Meghan Markle is facing a lawsuit by her half-sister for allegedly making false statements in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Samantha Markle filed the lawsuit on Thursday, accusing Meghan of defamation “based on demonstrably false and malicious statements” in the March 7, 2021 interview.
She claims Meghan’s “lies” were “designed to destroy [her] reputation” and have subjected her to “humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale.”
Samantha added that Meghan lied about being an only child, and falsely stated that Samantha changed her last name to Markle after Meghan started dating Prince Harry.
She also accused Meghan of damaging their father's reputation "in order to preserve and promote the false ‘rags-to-royalty’ narrative." She claims Meghan has falsely given the impression that she "essentially raised herself from virtual poverty" and worked to pay for her college education from Northwestern University.
"Defendant was not forced at the age of 13 to work in low-paying jobs to make ends meet; Defendant attended elite and expensive private schools and dance and acting classes in Los Angeles paid for by her Father; Mr. Markle also paid for all of Defendant's college education at Northwestern including tuition, rent and living expenses and even took out loans to cover the considerable cost," Samantha argued.
Samantha is seeking damages in excess of $75,000.