Meghan Markle’s sister appeals in court citing ‘realistic death threats’ after Sussexes’ Netflix docu

MONTECITO, CALIFORNIA: Samantha Markle’s battle over her portrayal in the Netflix documentary 'Harry & Meghan' has taken yet another legal turn, bringing the case to the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Samantha is reportedly undeterred despite previous defamation lawsuit against her estranged half-sister, Meghan Markle, being dismissed by the court.

Did Meghan Markle's documentary endanger her sister’s safety?

Samantha Markle has taken her claims to the Court of Appeals, highlighting the impact she says the docuseries has had on her personal life.

The documentary, released in December 2022, includes a segment where Meghan Markle discusses the alleged harassment she has faced, attributing some of it to “disinformation” spread by estranged family members.

As per OK Magazine, Meghan’s striking words in the series encapsulate her fear and frustration. She says in the docuseries, “You are making people want to kill me. It's not just a tabloid. It's not just some story. You are making me scared.” 

This segment has become central to Samantha’s latest legal arguments, with her lawyers arguing it directly contributed to Samantha’s emotional suffering.

According to court filings, Samantha alleged she was "forced to move residences, retract from public outings" because of the documentary.

She also "faced realistic death threats from individuals who have 'sworn' allegiance to Meghan in this 'fight' between the two sisters", stated legal documents.

Her lawyer, Peter Ticktin, emphasized the toll these events have taken on her, stating, “There can be no doubt that Meghan Markle attacked her sister Samantha Markle verbally in her documentary.”

Samantha Markle claims 'Harry & Meghan' documentary wrongly linked her to hate campaigns

Samantha Markle's lawsuit challenges Meghan Markle's statements, asserting that she never engaged in spreading harmful rumors about Meghan.

The court documents clarifed her position, stating, "[Samantha] was never was part of any group which put out disinformation, never trolled Meghan, was never part of any hate group, never used the N-word on tweets, never monetarized any hate tweets against Meghan, or did anything to make anyone want to kill Meghan or have Meghan made nervous because of any such activity."

The lawsuit also questioned the research conducted by Christopher Bouzy, an expert Meghan had consulted to analyze online harassment.

Samantha claimed his analysis failed to reveal that she was uninvolved in any trolling or harmful tweets.

Legal filings highlighted this discrepancy, arguing that Bouzy could have easily verified that none of the accounts identified were linked to Samantha.

The legal documents stated "none of those accounts" that had engaged in the harassing comments toward Meghan were owned by Samantha, according to a "quick trace of the IP addresses".

Why was Samantha Markle's defamation lawsuit against Meghan Markle dismissed?

A US District Judge dismissed Samantha Markle's defamation lawsuit against her half-sister, Meghan Markle, after Samantha failed to substantiate her claims.

The court ruled that Samantha's third amended complaint still lacked specific statements to support defamation allegations against Meghan from sources like the 'Finding Freedom' book, the 'Harry & Meghan' Netflix series, or Meghan’s CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The judge ordered the dismissal "with prejudice", meaning Samantha cannot refile the lawsuit.

The defamation claims originated from Samantha’s allegations that Meghan falsely portrayed her in the 2021 Oprah interview.

Samantha accused Meghan of wrongly stating she was "an only child" and alleged Meghan suggested Samantha had changed her surname to capitalize on Meghan's fame.

Samantha argued these statements led to worldwide humiliation, seeking $75,000 in damages for harm to her reputation.

However, with the court's dismissal, Meghan’s legal team ended Samantha's pursuit for seeking damages.