The legal battle between Meghan Markle and her half-sister Samantha Markle seems close to its end after a hearing before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Samantha Markle sued the Duchess of Sussex for defamation, pointing to comments Meghan made in her 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview and the 2022 Netflix series Harry & Meghan. Samantha argued that Meghan’s remarks, along with statements made by social media analyst Christopher Bouzy in the documentary, painted her as a liar and an opportunist, which she claims led to online harassment and even death threats.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell dismissed the case, ruling that the statements were either opinions, substantially true, not defamatory, or presented alongside Samantha’s own version of events, making defamation claims invalid.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Samantha’s attorney Peter Ticktin admitted his team may have mishandled their filings by failing to challenge Honeywell’s ruling that the remarks were protected opinions—an oversight Chief Judge William Pryor said was critical. Pryor noted that without addressing every reason for the lower court’s dismissal, the appeal couldn’t succeed. Judge Nancy Abudu also pressed Ticktin on this issue, and he conceded his team “fell into the trap.”
Meghan’s attorney, Michael Kump, argued the lawsuit rests on a weak theory of vicarious liability and pointed out that even Samantha’s filings described Bouzy as a respected expert in online hate, undermining claims that Meghan should have doubted his input.
