EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Markle has successfully had her half-sister’s defamation case thrown out of court

Samantha Markle sued the Duchess of Sussex over her comments to Oprah Winfrey and on her Netflix show, Harry & Meghan. Today, a judge ruled in favor of the former actress after she had applied to dismiss the case.

The Florida judge delivered a harsh ruling and prohibited any future court proceedings. Judge Charlene Honeywell’s 58-page decision stated that Samantha could not provide evidence to support a defamation claim.

The half-sister’s third attempt to amend her complaint, as described in Finding Freedom, the Netflix series Harry & Meghan, or Defendant and her husband’s hour-long televised CBS Interview, has been dismissed with prejudice.

Judge Honeywell granted Defendant’s (Meghan Markle) Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. The plaintiff’s (Samantha Markle) Defamation Claims (Count One) have been dismissed with prejudice. The court has denied the Plaintiff’s Defamation-By-Implication Claims (Count Two) with prejudice.

The Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of Defendant Meghan Markle (also known as Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex), terminate any pending motions, and close this case.

In her 2021 tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan was accused by her half-sister of spreading ‘demonstrably false and malicious lies’ to a ‘worldwide audience.’ In March 2022, Samantha filed a defamation case against her younger half-sister. She alleged that the Duchess had defamed her by providing information to an unauthorized biography called Finding Freedom and discussing their relationship with Winfrey on live TV.

The 59-year-old accused Meghan of orchestrating a campaign to defame and destroy her and her father’s reputation. She also claimed that Meghan fabricated a false ‘rags-to-royalty’ narrative about her life to the Royal Family and the worldwide media.

Samantha alleged that Meghan made comments in her show that sought to demonize her and portray her as a liar and fame seeker. Samantha claimed that some of Meghan’s fans launched ‘hate-filled smear campaigns’ against her.

Meghan successfully dismissed Samantha’s original lawsuit. A Florida judge ruled favor of Meghan and stated that the former Suits actress expressed ‘an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-sibling.’ However, the judge did allow Samantha to refile her claim partially. At the time, Samantha said she would return with an ‘even stronger’ case.