Meghan Markle has denied claims she lied during her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, in response to a lawsuit filed by her half-sister.
Samantha Markle is suing the Duchess of Sussex for defamation, claiming the comments she made in the interview caused her “emotional and mental distress”.
The 57-year-old has alleged Meghan fabricated parts of her “rags to royalty” narrative, after the former actress claimed she essentially raised herself from “virtual poverty”.
In court documents, Samantha also accused Meghan of launching a “premeditated campaign to destroy” her and her father’s reputation.
Samantha has claimed the interview “hurt sales of her autobiography”, and is seeking $75,000 (€68,600) in damages and a trial by jury for the case.
However in new papers filed in Florida this week, Meghan’s lawyers argued that her statement about growing up an only child was not meant to be “objective fact” but a subjective statement of her own feelings.
The papers state: “Plaintiff [Samantha] first asserts that she can disprove that Meghan “grew up as an only child”. But this perception is entirely unfalsifiable. It is hard to imagine a more personal and subjective feeling than how one views their own childhood.”
“Moreover, Plaintiff’s opposition completely ignores the context of the statement where Ms Winfrey asked Meghan about her relationship with Plaintiff.”
“Meghan’s response was obviously not meant to be a statement of fact that she had no genetic siblings or half-siblings.”
“Rather it was a textbook example of a subjective statement about how a person feels about her childhood,” Meghan’s legal team argued.
Samantha’s lawsuit against Meghan came to light back in March.
At the time, the Duchess’ lawyer Michael Kump said: “This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behavior.”
“We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves.”
Meghan and Prince Harry’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey was nominated for an Emmy Award last year.
The CBS special aired in March 2021, and made headlines all over the world.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a number of shocking claims about the Royal family during the interview, as they discussed their decision to step down as senior working royals last year.
