Meghan Markle faces uphill battle to protect private texts in looming trial

Meghan Markle may be compelled to disclose private communications as part of her half-sister Samantha Markle’s ongoing defamation lawsuit against her.

Samantha appeared in court this week seeking to secure a July 2024 trial date against Meghan, who she claims defamed her in interviews and the Netflix docuseries.

Samantha is seeking over $75,000 in damages, alleging Meghan’s comments damaged sales of her memoir The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister. If the trial proceeds as planned, Meghan would have to undergo “discovery” by January 2nd, requiring her to submit relevant texts, emails and documents.

Samantha originally filed the defamation suit in March 2022, accusing Meghan of making malicious and damaging lies about her to the media. She alleges comments in Finding Freedom and Meghan’s Oprah interview sought to portray her in a negative light. 

The amended suit also cites remarks made about their relationship in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix series.

However, Michael Kump, representing Meghan, denied any of her statements had any weight. He maintained the suit had no legal basis under defamation law or free speech protections. Still, Samantha appears optimistic for her case to advance to the trial stage where she could access Meghan’s private communications.

While Meghan was not in court, the latest proceedings indicate Samantha is pushing forward in attempting to prove her defamation allegations and potentially unveil more details of their family dynamic through discovery.