Meghan Markle Is Taking New Action Against Her Sister's Defamation Lawsuit
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These days, there doesn't seem to be much love lost between Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and her half-sister Samantha Markle. Samantha first started talking to the press about Meghan when Prince Harry and Meghan's relationship was made public, via The U.S. Sun. After their engagement was made public in 2017, Samantha talked about how she still loved Meghan and wanted to have a "heart to heart" after not having spoken much for years, via Us Weekly. Things seemed to sour as the wedding drew closer in 2018, and Samantha admitted to setting up their father Thomas Markle to be photographed by paparazzi before the nuptials, per Us Weekly. Samantha titled her memoir "The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister," and in it, she wrote that Meghan was "belittling and controlling" of their father. On Twitter, Samantha has at times referred to Meghan as Cruella De Vil, inhuman, arrogant, deceitful, and a narcissist, via The U.S. Sun.
Things seem to have come to a head, with Samantha filing a defamation lawsuit against Meghan after the CBS interview by Oprah of Prince Harry and Meghan. And Meghan has responded.
Meghan Markle claims Samantha's lawsuit is without merit
In the defamation lawsuit originally filed in March, Samantha Markle said that Meghan Markle lied about a number of things in the Oprah interview, including when the two half-siblings lost touch and that she put herself through college, via Us Weekly. Samantha also claimed that the interview caused negative sales of her book. The lawsuit also includes mention of negative references to Samantha in the book "Finding Freedom," specifically that Samantha feels Meghan made about her including that she had lost custody of her children (via Newsweek). Meghan has since filed to have Samantha's lawsuit dismissed since it is "without merit," per Insider.
This is the second time that Meghan has filed to have the lawsuit dismissed; previously it was denied after Samantha amended the original complaint, via Us Weekly. Samantha's lawyer Douglas A. Kahle, according to Newsweek, stepped back from representing her in April. Samantha also filed to have Judge Charlene Honeywell, who's assigned to the case, dismissed because the judge was appointed by former president Barack Obama, and Harry and Meghan are friends with the Obamas, per Insider. Judge Honeywell has said she has no relationship with the Obamas and that she'd be able to render a fair verdict.
Meghan Markle asserts that she grew up as an only child
Meghan Markle and her half-sister, Samantha Markle, also have wildly different recounts of their childhood days. Among the many stunning things we learned from Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview, the Duchess of Sussex explained that she was raised as an only child, a fact she claims can be validated by anyone who knew her back then (via Insider). That's not to say that Meghan didn't have a desire to have siblings. Growing up without brothers or sisters is reportedly one of the reasons the former "Suits" star is so excited for her own kids, Archie and Lilibet, to have one another.
On the other hand, Samantha Markle had a different story to share on Good Morning America in 2018. "She was the baby in our household, we never addressed each other as half-sister," Samantha explained (via Evening Standard), implying that the blood relatives were raised as sisters. "We had two households, there was a bridge. We were united. So I thought why doesn't she call me?"
In her latest dismissal request, Meghan is standing by what she said in her interview with Oprah. "We do not empanel juries to rule on whether two people are 'close,' or whether one genuinely feels that they 'grew up as an only child," Meghan's dismissal request reads (via ET Canada). "Courts are not equipped to adjudicate the legitimacy of a person's feelings about their childhood and relationships."
Thomas Markle was not supportive of his daughter's break from the royal family
Samantha Markle is not the only blood relative with whom the Duchess of Sussex has a rocky relationship. On more than one occasion, Meghan Markle's father, Thomas Markle, has spoken out against his daughter. In a Channel 5 documentary, the Markle patriarch revealed that he disapproved of Meghan and Harry's abrupt exit from the UK. "Every young girl wants to become a princess and she got that and now she's tossing that away," Thomas stated. "It looks like she's tossing that away for money" (via The Daily Mail).
Markle's estranged father, who has not spoken to his daughter since her wedding in 2018, has also been vocal about his lack of contact with his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet. "I'm not a tearful type ... but I'm certainly hurt by a lot of it," the former lighting director shared with "60 Minutes Australia" following the birth of Lilibet (via YouTube). Thomas was "hurt" that he had to learn the news through a radio announcement, rather than through a personal call.
Thomas has also revealed that he plans to take legal action against his daughter. "I will be petitioning the California courts for the rights to see my grandchildren in the very near future," Markle revealed to Fox News.