Meghan Markle Victorious Against Estranged Half-Sister Samantha’s Defamation Lawsuit Over Oprah Interview
March 31 2023, Published 9:57 a.m. ET
Meghan Markle has come out victorious in the defamation lawsuit brought by her estranged half-sister Samantha, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, on Thursday, a federal court judge informed the Duchess of Sussex that Samantha’s entire lawsuit was thrown out.
Samantha said her reputation had been ruined after Meghan spread all lies about her childhood. She said Prince Harry’s wife portrayed herself as a “rags to royal” when she actually attended private schools.
Meghan told Oprah she was an “only child” which Samantha was upset about because they share the same father, Thomas Markle.
Samantha claimed Meghan lied when she said the last time, they had seen each other was “18, 19 years ago and before that, 10 years before that.”
In the suit, Samantha accused Meghan of defaming her when Meghan publicly accused her half-sister of changing her last name to Markle after she married Harry — to attach herself to the attention.
In response, Meghan demanded the entire lawsuit be dismissed.
"This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behavior. We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves,” Meghan’s lawyer said when the lawsuit was filed.
Earlier this year, the battle turned nasty with Samantha demanding Meghan turn over private emails she had with Oprah before the interview.
Meghan objected to the request arguing it violated her right to privacy. She told the court she didn’t believe there to be any communications with Oprah about Samantha.
Samantha had demanded Meghan sit for a deposition in the case but that issue is now moot.
In the new court order, the judge ruled, “the Court finds that Plaintiff has failed to plausibly allege that Defendant made a “substantially and materially false” statement, as she must do to state a claim.
He noted that Meghan never accused her sister of changing her name for money. Her exact quote was, “No. She changed her last name back to Markle, and I think she’s in her early fifties at that time, only when I started dating Harry. And so I think that says enough.”
Samantha has yet to comment on her court loss.