Meghan Markle’s estranged half-sister Samantha has claimed she was “forced to move residences” due to “verbal attacks” in the Sussexes’ controversial Netflix series.
Sussexes must listen to ‘public opinion’ to return amicably to UK…
Meghan Markle’s half-sister Samantha has claimed in court documents she was “forced to move residences” and “faced realistic death threats” as a result of the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary.
The elder Markle sister, who shares a father with the Duchess of Sussex, first sued Meghan in 2022 over claims the former working royal made in Harry and Meghan’s Oprah Winfrey sit down and Netflix documentary series.
Samantha’s civil lawsuit claimed the comments were “disparaging, hurtful, and false” statements which suggested she was “a stranger, a liar, and a . . . deceptive fame-seeking imposter with avaricious intentions”.
In reply, Meghan’s lawyers argued that the Duchess of Sussex’s opinions were protected under the First Amendment.
An implicit or express statement that (Samantha) belongs to a hate group spreading disinformation about Meghan is an opinion protected by the First Amendment,” Meghan’s lawyers wrote in court documents.
Meghan won the initial case, but Samantha has taken the lawsuit to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal.
In a new court filing for the appeal seen by Newsweek, Samantha’s lawyer Peter Ticktin argued there was “no doubt” Samantha had suffered as a result of her famous sibling’s documentary.
“There can be no doubt that Meghan Markle attacked her sister Samantha Markle verbally in her documentary,” Mr Ticktin said.
Samantha’s lawyer claimed his client was “forced to move” over the allegations in the “Harry and Meghan” Netflix documentary. Picture: Archewell
The lawyer wrote that Samantha, who is confined to a wheelchair, was “forced to move residences” and “faced realistic death threats”, presumably from the Sussexes’ supporters.
Samantha’s case is understood to hinge on a particular scene in the Netflix program in which Harry and Meghan’s friend, tech entrepreneur Christopher Bouzy, described the “trolling” received by the Duchess of Sussex.
“This is not your everyday trolling. It’s insane. And it was done by people who were just not the typical quote-unquote trolls,” Mr Bouzy said.
“These are housewives, these are middle-aged Caucasian women.
“Samantha Markle was part of the group that was putting out a lot of this disinformation.”
The segment ended with an emotional Meghan saying: “You are making people want to kill me. It’s not just a tabloid. It’s not just some story. You are making me scared.”
Mr Ticktin argued that Samantha “never” trolled Meghan and complained that the glamorous Duchess “is permitted to walk away” from the accusations.
“(Samantha) was never part of any group which put out disinformation, never trolled Meghan, was never part of any hate group, never used the N-word on tweets, never monetarised any hate tweets against Meghan, or did anything to make anyone want to kill Meghan or have Meghan made nervous because of any such activity,” he said.
“Yet, with a dismissal, Meghan is permitted to walk away, as though innocent.”
