12 March 2024 , 17:32
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Meghan Markle has successfully had her half-sister’s defamation case thrown out of court, with the court documents now revealing that the Duchess allegedly "hung up" on Samantha Markle after she started dating Prince Harry.
Samantha brought a defamation case against Meghan back in March 2022, one year after the bombshell Harry and Meghan Oprah interview and months before the couple's Netflix docuseries dropped. In the case, Samantha alleged the Duchess had defamed her by giving information to an unauthorised biography called Finding Freedom and by discussing their relationship with Oprah on live TV.
She then accused Meghan and Harry's docuseries, which dropped onto the streaming platform Netflix a year ago, of spreading "malicious, hurtful, and damaging lies". Samantha also alleged that Meghan made comments seeking to "demonise" her and portray her as a "liar and fame seeker".
And now it has emerged that Samantha claims she had a “good to wonderful relationship" with Meghan to begin with, according to the court documents. But as Meghan "achieved success" in the world of acting, "she no longer had time" for her half-sister and stopped "visiting" by 2016, Samantha claims.
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Samantha and Meghan have long been at loggerheads (7NEWS Australia)The court documents continue: "Then, once Defendant (Meghan) met Prince Harry and became engaged to him, the half-sisters became estranged." It is then claimed that in 2017 and 2018, Meghan "hung up on Plaintiff (Samantha) during a phone call and ultimately, of her family members, only invited her mother to the Royal Wedding." Meghan began dating Harry in 2016, with their wedding taking place in May 2018.
The court documents then state that Samantha "was subsequently 'discovered' by the media and, in an interview, stated that Defendant (Meghan) had not contacted their father after he suffered two heart attacks", with the documents continuing: "The press used fabricated quotes and wrote that Plaintiff (Samantha) 'bashed' Defendant (Meghan). Subsequently, Defendant (Meghan) allegedly started a 'smear campaign' against Plaintiff (Samantha) and began to resent her."
The case is to be dismissed, with prejudice, meaning Samantha cannot raise the claim again. Judge Honeywell wrote:" Defendant's (Meghan Markle) Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim is GRANTED. Plaintiff's (Samantha Markle) Defamation Claims (Count One) are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Plaintiff's Defamation-By-Implication Claims (Count Two) are also DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. The Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favour of Defendant, Meghan Markle (also known as Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex), terminate any pending motions, and CLOSE this case."