Meghan and Harry were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey
(Picture: AP)The Duchess of Sussex is being sued by her half-sister over a bombshell interview she gave to Oprah Winfrey.
Samantha Markle, 57, is suing Meghan over her “rags to riches” tale of her background which she claims is untrue.
In the suit, filed in Tampa, Florida, Samantha accused the duchess of a “premeditated campaign to destroy” her reputation and that of their father, Thomas Markle.
She claims Mr Markle paid for Meghan to attend “elite and expensive private schools” as well as dance and acting classes.
She claims the duchess, 40, never worked to pay for her Northwestern college education and argues the story of her climbing through an old car’s trunk was a lie.
Samantha also alleges that her sister’s claim that the family could only afford the $4.99 salad at Sizzlers was wrong.
However, the duchess’s lawyer, Michael Kump, told the site: “This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behaviour.
“We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves.”
Samantha is seeking $75,000 (£56,700) in damages after Meghan’s interview allegedly “hurt sales of her autobiography”.
According to the Daily Mail, the document states: “Plaintiff has suffered actual damages in the form of lost employment, lost income from sales of her autobiography, emotional and mental distress, including anxiety and fear due to the threatening and violent emails and messages she receives regularly, and harm to her reputation and credibility.”
Her lawsuit alleges Meghan did not tell the truth when she said to Ms Winfrey she “essentially raised herself from virtual poverty” and had to take on low-paying jobs from 13 to “make ends meet”.
The suit also criticises the book ‘Finding Freedom’, a biography written by Meghan’s friend, Omid Scobie.
He dismissed the claims in the suit, writing on social media: “A burn from Meghan’s attorney Michael Kump: ‘This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behavior.
“‘We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves.’”
During the two-hour interview with Ms Winfrey, Harry and Meghan opened up about the difficulties of royal life, their new lives in California, and their then unborn second child.
