It’s a good day to be Meghan Markle!
The Duchess of Sussex has come out on top after a messy legal battle brought forth against her by her half-sister Samantha Markle! As you might recall, the latter sued the Suits alum for spreading “malicious lies” during her 2021 Oprah Winfrey tell-all and in statements to Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie that were published in their 2020 book Finding Freedom. Mostly, Samantha was butt-hurt Meghan said she grew up as an only child and had no connection to the 58-year-old, whom she has publicly feuded with ever since joining the royal family.
After a lengthy court case, US District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell of Florida announced on Thursday that Meghan’s statements were NOT defamatory — they were just opinions! Because of this, they are “not capable of being proved false.”
Related: Harry ‘Torpedoed’ Relationship With Royals Amid Legal Battle
In her order, she wrote via The Daily Beast:
“As a reasonable listener would understand it, Defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings.”
The statement continued:
“Thus, the Court finds that Defendant’s statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof… Plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove Defendant’s opinion of her own childhood.”
Wow! A massive win!!
Some of the comments that were brought into question were from the explosive CBS special, in which Prince Harry and his wife addressed why they walked away from the royal family. At one point, the Archetypes podcast host said of her half-sister:
“When you talk about betrayal, betrayal comes from someone that you have a relationship with… But I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wished I had siblings. I would have loved to have had siblings.”
When Oprah suggested the pair “weren’t close” and “didn’t grow up together,” Meghan agreed, responding, “no.”
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That said, Thomas Markle‘s oldest daughter argued otherwise, saying they had a “wonderful relationship” during childhood. She even claimed she had “regularly driven [Meghan] to school and helped her with homework.” Furthermore, The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister Part 1 author alleged the mother of two’s rags-to-riches narrative about her upbringing was false and that when the 41-year-old was caught in the lie, she attacked her half-sister to cover up her own wrongdoing.
Ultimately, Judge Honeywell didn’t side with Samantha on any of this. Interestingly, this verdict wasn’t based solely on the fact the official believed Meghan’s comments were more opinion than fact. As for the commentary in Finding Freedom, because the actress was not the publisher, Honeywell didn’t think she could be held responsible for what was printed.
Good news for Meg! But we have a feeling Samantha is not going to be pleased with this outcome! Do U agree with the judge’s decision? Sound OFF (below)!
[Image via MEGA/WENN & Sunrise/YouTube]
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