Markle vs. Markle! Meghan faces defamation trial after half-sister Samantha claimed she was defamed in order to ‘cover up’ her ‘false rags-to-riches’ narrative
- Samantha Markle filed an amended lawsuit against Meghan in April this year
- Her first claim, alleging defamation in the Finding Freedom case, was dismissed
- She continues to claim Meghan defamed her by telling Oprah Winfrey she grew up “as an only child.”
- The trial date is set for November 2024 in Tampa, Florida
- The judge has not yet responded to Meghan’s request to dismiss the new claim
A new trial date has been set for Meghan Markle’s fight with her half-sister Samantha.
Samantha, 59, claims Meghan defamed her when she said she grew up as an only child in her interview with Oprah Winfrey.
She claims the comment, along with Meghan’s comment that she “don’t really know her,” was defamatory. Samantha is now seeking $75,000 in damages.
The judge dismissed the case in March, but an amended complaint was filed the following month. Meghan wanted the amended complaint dismissed in May, but the judge has yet to rule on the request.
Meghan Markle pictured at the Variety 2023 Power of Women event in California on November 16
Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. She claimed she grew up as an ‘only child’
In a decision dated November 14, the same judge set a trial date for November 2024, with ‘in-person’ meetings scheduled in advance.
Because the case is in civil court, Meghan does not have to appear when the case goes to trial.
Her team of lawyers did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s queries.
Samantha is the eldest daughter of Meghan’s father Thomas. The couple has different mothers.
Since Meghan’s engagement to Prince Harry, Samantha has appeared in numerous TV and radio interviews.
She claims the pair were close growing up and would often “help Meghan with her homework” and take her on trips to the mall.
Samantha Markle claims she and Meghan were close when Meghan was a child
Samantha Markle is seeking more than $75,000 in damages
‘When Meghan started finding success as an actress, she no longer had time for her older sister, Samantha, and by 2016 the two had stopped visiting, although there were no ill feelings between them as far as Samantha knew.
âUnfortunately, when Meghan met and began dating Prince Harry, Meghan became hostile toward Samantha, as well as her half-brother and her father, and Meghan’s relationship with Samantha became estranged,â her lawsuit reads.
In her first version of the lawsuit, Samantha alleged that Meghan deliberately defamed her by providing information to the authors of Finding Freedom that she says is false.
One of the tidbits was Meghan’s apparent claim that Samantha had “dropped out of high school.”
Those details were removed from the amended complaint, which focuses solely on Meghan’s comments in the Oprah interview.