A Florida judge dismissed Meghan Markle’s half-sister Samantha Markle’s defamation lawsuit against her following comments made by the Duchess of Sussex during an interview with Oprah Winfrey and on her Netflix show.
According to Sky News, Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell dismissed the action with prejudice, preventing the plaintiff from filing again. Samantha Markle, Meghan’s father, did not establish a defamation or defamation-by-implication action, according to the judge’s ruling.
Samantha Markle filed a lawsuit alleging that her half-sister and husband, Prince Harry, made “demonstrably false” claims and spoke “malicious lies” during their 2021 interview with Oprah. The Suits star, who has a Black mother, revealed to Oprah that she was raised as the only child. Samantha also told the host that after dating the Duke of Sussex, she reverted to her Markle surname.
Judge Honeywell ruled Meghan’s words were not defamatory because they were “substantially true based on judicially noticed evidence” or “not capable of being considered defamatory.”
“That Plaintiff used one last name and then the name Markle soon after reports of [the] defendant’s relationship with Prince Harry were published is substantially true, based on the exhibits in the record, of which the court has taken judicial notice, and the court cannot reasonably infer otherwise,” the judge went on to say.
“We are pleased with the court’s ruling dismissing the case,” stated Meghan’s lawyer, Michael J Kump.
In 2023, a judge dismissed Samantha Markle’s slander claim against the Duchess of Sussex. In a 2022 lawsuit, Samantha Markle claimed Meghan, 42, harmed her image by revealing material from an unauthorized biography, Finding Freedom, and discussing their relationship during an appearance with Oprah, according to Sky News.
The judge ruled that because Meghan did not publish the book in question, the defendant could not be held liable for its contents.