The Daily Mail Will Fight Duchess Meghan’s Lawsuit
Yesterday, while Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan were on their royal African tour, a letter was released announcing that he’s done with the British press dragging his wife. Meghan herself went ahead and confirmed they weren’t playing, by announcing that she was officially suing the Mail on Sunday (aka The Daily Mail). Well, The Daily Mail doesn’t appear to be that afraid, because they’re going to fight Harry and Meghan in court.
Meghan is suing The Daily Mail for publishing a personal letter she sent to her father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018. In the letter, Meghan essentially calls out her dad for rivaling Harry’s family in the messiness department, and accuses him of breaking her heart. She also implied he was being manipulated by her half-sister, the even-messier Samantha Markle. Meghan was reportedly considering suing over the letter, because publishing it was an infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018. She and Harry also accuse The Daily Mail of editing and omitting certain parts of the letter to manipulate the tone presented.
The Daily Mail could have pulled the letter and apologized, or hell – written a bitchy post about how Mean Ol’ Duchess America bullied them into pulling the letter. Instead, they waved off the threat of the lawsuit. According to BBC News, The Daily Mail has no plans to attempt to undo the damage, and they call BS on the claim that they edited the letter. A spokesperson for The Daily Mail responded with the following statement:
“The Mail on Sunday stands by the story it published and will be defending this case vigorously. Specifically, we categorically deny that the Duchess’s letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning.”
But one former Daily Mail editor thinks the lawsuit won’t make it to court. Roy Greenslade tells BBC News that the press, particularly the tabloid press, isn’t nearly as powerful as it was during Princess Diana’s time, and describes Harry’s approach to the press as “taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.” BBC News also spoke to British politician Liz Truss, who said she doesn’t believe Meghan is really that much of a victim. She says she believes Meghan is “enjoying” her role, and that everyone in a public position has to take a bit of “flak” from the press. To be fair, I’m not sure I can remember the last time the British press fainted in horror when Prince Harry wore denim.
This is far from the first time The Daily Mail has gone a few rounds with a famous person. Melania Trump sued The Daily Mail in 2017 after they alleged she used to be a hooker. Angelina Jolie threatened to sue The Daily Mail after they published screenshots from a video in which Angelina looked a little rough (they alleged she was “strung out” on heroin). George Clooney slapped at them back in 2014 after they published a story accusing Amal Clooney’s mom of hating that her daughter was marrying him.
Although this might be the first time they’ve gone to court with a Prince and a Duchess. I hope all sides are getting prepared, because this could get messy. And Thomas Markle should probably hope this thing goes to trial. Because I have a feeling that the only way Meghan is ever going to agree to talk to him ever again, is if the judge asks, “Does the plaintiff have any questions for this witness?”
Here’s more of Meghan attending a roundtable discussion on gender empowerment at the University of Johannesburg yesterday:
Pics: Wenn.com