Meghan Markle has won a defamation lawsuit against her by her half-sister Samantha Markle.
The Duchess of Sussex had been accused of spreading "malicious lies" following her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey alongside her husband, Prince Harry.
During the explosive 85-minute chat with the popular talk show host, the 41-year-old opened up about the difficulties she had faced while being part of the British royal family.
From battling suicidal thoughts, all the way to dealing with tension with other family members, Meghan claimed that she was subjected to mistreatment.
Perhaps her most notable claims surrounded the issue of racism especially when it came to her son, Archie. The former Suits actress revealed that there was some concern and conversations had over her baby’s skin tone, while Harry condemned his relatives for failing to criticize colonial undertones in media coverage.
There was also one point during the interview when Meghan stated that she grew up an only child and only met her half-sister a handful of times, which seemingly ruffled Samantha's feathers.
When Winfrey suggested the pair "weren't close" and "didn't grow up together", Meghan confirmed the remark.
Samantha disputed this, alleging that the pair previously had a "wonderful relationship" and that she had "regularly driven [Meghan] to school and helped her with her homework."
According to TMZ, Samantha also argued that this statement was false, malicious and humiliating.
However, it wasn't just comments made during the interview that her half-sister used as potential evidence. As per the Independent, she also stated that alleged statements given to journalists in 2020 were grounds for filing a legal defamation dispute.
Despite this, on Thursday, a Florida judge ruled in favor of Meghan and dismissed the lawsuit, arguing that her statements were merely based on opinion and "not capable of being proved false."
"As a reasonable listener would understand it, [the] Defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings," wrote US District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell as per The Daily Beast. "Thus, the Court finds that Defendant’s statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof... [the] Plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove [the] Defendant’s opinion of her own childhood."
Prior to the outcome being announced, Samantha had been vocal about her stance on her half-sister.
While initially the 58-year-old seemed to be happy for her sister, telling hosts on a 2017 episode of Good Morning Britain that she "loves her" before adding that she was "incredibly happy" for her, things seem to have taken a turn over recent years.
In 2018, during a scathing rant posted to Twitter, Samantha slammed Meghan for not inviting her to the wedding.
She said: "Out of respect and humanitarianism, the Markles should be invited if 2,000 complete strangers are. Our uncle, brother, me, best friend of 30 years, nephews. Our issue is not a matter of closeness. Family is family."
Then in a follow-up tweet she turned her attention to Prince Harry, advising that he "man up."
"It’s time to 'man up' @HRHHenryWindsor 'Shout outs' about humanitarianism, don’t work when you are allowing Meg to ignore the Markles. It is s [sic] contradiction. Someone must point out that the 'Emperor is not wearing any clothes,'" she added.
The relationship between the two sisters only continued to worsen as Samantha claimed that Meghan was "jealous" of her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton.
"I believe that there is a jealous streak in Meg, she does like to be the centre of attention and I feel like that is what is going on now," she said during a documentary titled Meghan and Harry: A Royal Baby Story.
And in 2021 just prior to the death of Prince Phillip, Samatha spoke to the Mirror, telling the outlet that their father Thomas Markle was suffering at the hands of his daughter.
"I’m worried all this could affect my dad’s health. And it’s terrible that this is happening when Prince Philip is in hospital," she said at the time. "My dad could die at any time but it doesn’t seem to matter to Meghan. All that seems to matter to her is she gets her way. She’s like a bull in a china shop."
"The way Meghan has treated my father is horrifying. He’s been on the phone to me in tears. He couldn’t understand it," she said before adding that the royal family "shouldn’t be surprised because my father gave Meg everything she has but she treated him exactly the same way."
