Harry & Meghan: Legal Actions against the Media

[Betsypaige]

And they are free to write it. No one is stopping them.

Of course........the blessings of living in a country with all the freedoms that we have (whether it's the US or UK or Canada, or wherever)

I'm not sitting back waiting for Harry and Meghan to mess up even though I've been critical of them. I hope things work out well for them - and I hope that Harry is able to mend whatever issues still remain with his family.

 

[Madame Verseau]

Mr Markel has stated publicly that he was offered the same advice , help that Doria Markel was offered ; He declined , whether that was because he felt he could cope ,or because he had never met Harry who know's . i can only feel that if Meghan and Harry had offered the same courtesy of actually meeting Meghan's father as they did Doria , before his own brother revealed his address [and does that not say a lot about Markel family dynamics ], then a lot of the manipulation of Thomas Markel by media/ family could have been avoided .

Dad may have been impossible during the dating stage and therefore no meeting of Harry. Dad may not have not have liked Meghan being with Harry. That attitude of Markle's doesn't come overnight; it could have been years in the making. The thing is because he went on interviews for pay Meghan's lawyers can go through them and come at him on the stand if he testifies. Some inconvenient ugly truths about Dad could come out if not at trial but by the press. His first wife has already come out and said Markle was no great husband and father; and DM reported he has minimal or no contact with five adult grandchildren - two he never met. Funny DM is claiming Markle is the star witness. The media knows a lot of people can't stand Markle and if it sees there is a lot of money to be made by taking him down so be it. Frankly I think DM is setting him up to take the fall for the lawsuit but it is propping him up for now. Markle's ego likes to be stroked and that's how the press has him along with the money.

 

[_Heather_]

I think things are going to get worse for Harry and Meghan not better. And they are making it worse for themselves. The "you go, girl!" group of celebrities she's surrounded herself with will make it worse too. We'll see.

Exactly this. That whole "you go, girl" mentality is clearly showing the dividing cultural lines and, in the end, will not work out in her favor. It really just speaks to the already prevalent notion that she never really understood the difference between celebrity and royalty and not only did she not understand, she didn't want to understand. This whole legal fight will only be the first of many and I suspect that in a few years we'll find that Meghan and Harry have become very much a "one hit wonder" and not the global crusading do-gooder duo they'd like us to believe they'll be. Right now this lawsuit and all of the issues surrounding it are indicative of the lashing out that we continue to see from these two. There's only so much of that that can be done before they simply become the butt of jokes and a laughing stock, much as Tom Cruise did (yes, I used Tom Cruise because other members have compared the Harry/Meghan mentality to his and it actually is quite similar). I do think that eventually Harry will find himself crushed, exhausted, and disenchanted with the constant legal wrangling, the drama, the celebrity heavy lifestyle that he himself proclaimed he would never cross into. Meghan, not so much. Where that will leave the two of them it's hard to say but I suspect that, in the long run, this lawsuit and the others that are sure to come on it's heels will do them no favors.

 

[ACO]

I guess we shall see but so far they are in two very specific lawsuits. They hardly suing the world despite the claims. They are also under the radar. We talk about them more than they are even seen, so not sure they are doing much of anything.

I feel mostly people just projecting what they wish to happen onto them than what is likely to actually happen. Time will tell but I don't assume anything of anyone. Until we see them actually making moves than we have zero idea. Good for them for keeping it close to the vest. Probably their wises decision so far.

 

[Curbside]

Dad may have been impossible during the dating stage and therefore no meeting of Harry. Dad may not have not have liked Meghan being with Harry. That attitude of Markle's doesn't come overnight; it could have been years in the making. The thing is because he went on interviews for pay Meghan's lawyers can go through them and come at him on the stand if he testifies. Some inconvenient ugly truths about Dad could come out if not at trial but by the press. His first wife has already come out and said Markle was no great husband and father; and DM reported he has minimal or no contact with five adult grandchildren - two he never met. Funny DM is claiming Markle is the star witness. The media knows a lot of people can't stand Markle and if it sees there is a lot of money to be made by taking him down so be it. Frankly I think DM is setting him up to take the fall for the lawsuit but it is propping him up for now. Markle's ego likes to be stroked and that's how the press has him along with the money.

I know that if my parents hadn’t met my husband before the wedding, they might be upset with me, but they wouldn’t run around blabbing to the tabloids about it. Makes me wonder what kind of other inappropriate things he did or said before the media were in the audience.

 

[JessRulz]

Several off-topic posts have been deleted - the mod team is unsure how Brad Pitt figures into a discussion on Harry and Meghan's legal battles, yet there the posts were.

I have also removed several posts discussing Thomas Markle - please be reminded that the Markle family is off-topic across the board. In this instance, we have allowed some discussion about Thomas Markle as he is linked directly to the lawsuit against The Daily Mail - speculation or commentary further than that will not be tolerated.

 

[hel]

Two preliminary stage rulings (i.e., rulings about issues raised in the preliminary stage of trial) were released today about what evidence would be allowed at Harry's upcoming phone hacking suit:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1237500944683802624

 

[Lumutqueen]

The Duchess of Sussex has submitted a response to the High Court in her claim v The Mail on Sunday for publishing the letter to her father. It includes some text messages between Henry and Thomas and Meghan and Thomas.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1252182943222595584

 

[ACO]

[...]

I would imagine more of this will come out later this week when the hearing begins.

 

[Somebody]

The Duchess of Sussex has submitted a response to the High Court in her claim v The Mail on Sunday for publishing the letter to her father. It includes some text messages between Henry and Thomas and Meghan and Thomas.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1252182943222595584

The final (included) text message by Harry sounds like a threat:

"Oh any speaking to the press WILL backfire, trust me Tom. Only we can help u, as we have been trying from day 1."

 

[BaiSoSo]

The final (included) text message by Harry sounds like a threat:

"Oh any speaking to the press WILL backfire, trust me Tom. Only we can help u, as we have been trying from day 1."

That wasn't a threat....it was speaking the truth....speaking to the press will backfire was they have no problem turning on sources when needed or dragging them through the mud as well nor did it help in his relationship with Meghan.

Byline Investigates listed (on twitter) via the court documents the parts of the text that the Mail on Sunday excluded and it was quite sad....this woman was preparing for her wedding on a stage in front of the world and in the background she was pleading for her father to contact her so she could make sure he was okay, provide him with what he needed. All the while the Mail on Sunday and other publications/tv shows were constantly berated her claiming that she 'ghosted' her own father when it was him ignoring her pleads & assistance. Her father (and half-siblings) were claiming they weren't given any assistance...her father was and declined it. The worst part is people believed what they were saying and used it to look down on Meghan, spew nastiness towards her and it was based on lies.

 

[Hallo girl]

Maybe if they had spent some time with Thomas Markle before the wedding, all this could have been avoided. There is obviously more to this than what happened in the run up to the wedding. I just find it strange that Harry had not met Thomas prior to the engagement / wedding.

Thomas Markle does not live on another planet, arrangements could have been made for them to meet up privately. They carried out a great deal of the courtship in private, I am sure they could have all met up in private.
For whatever reason that did not happen, it makes you wonder why?

 

[Sandy345]

I don't think Thomas Markle is an easy person to get along with. I do think Harry and Meghan tried. I don't think he could have been stopped from going to the media when they came beckoning for him.

 

[ACO]

How do we know they didn't try? We keep learning more that Thomas was lying by his actions and words. He went on TV and admitted he lied more than once. We have court proof he was offered help. Heck in his initial media tour he flat out admitted that he turned down security and told one military friend of Harry's who personally flew to see Thomas to go back home. So again I ask, how do we know they didn't initially try and he didn't brush them off?

Meghan doesn't seem to be as close to her father in recent years (and I mean pre Harry). They seemed to have more of a long distance relationship in comparison to her mother. No one is going to force themselves to meet someone especially if a relationship is already tense.

Reading these texts explains a lot. Will be interesting to hear his answer if they directly ask him some straight to the point questions like -- "Did Harry and Meghan offer to visit you or bring you to London (Or Canada) to introduced you.?" Because I always found it interesting Harry met everyone close to Meghan except her father.

 

[Curryong]

The Guardian has published texts from Harry that have been given to the court that clearly show that both Harry and Meghan were reaching out to Tom Markle Snr shortly before the wedding and the texts were conciliatory. Instead of replying Tom contacted an entertainment news site in the US and made a long complaint about being ignored by the couple.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...le-on-eve-of-wedding-show-court-papers-meghan

 

[Osipi]

Rather than rehash who did or didn't do what way back when, looking at the information that has been filed with the High Court and released, its all part and parcel of the upcoming hearings. If Meghan didn't have a good case, I don't think the lawyers would have touched it with a 10 foot pole.

Public opinion on this case doesn't really matter. I'll wait for the verdict to be handed down in court. Couldas, wouldas, shouldas and all other suppositions pertaining to things that happened years ago in the relationship between Meghan and her father can't be changed. It is what it is.

 

[ACO]

I agree. Meghan knows how the press there treats her. She knew they would dig for anything to tarnish her and clear their name. She not backing down, so it would appear she confident in her truth of that happened and is presenting it so. The MoS will do the same. That is all they can do.

 

[lirienn]

The letter to British media is a bit too much in the time of pandemia. They made it clear they hate Daily Mail etc. Someone from their PR team is hot-headed.

 

[Osipi]

The letter to British media is a bit too much in the time of pandemia. They made it clear they hate Daily Mail etc. Someone from their PR team is hot-headed.

What I'm asking here is out of genuine curiosity. How possible is it that with the case in High Court to happen this week, the Sussexes were advised by their legal team ahead of time to issue such statements as a legal intent of their intentions towards the publications named? This avows to the court their intentions of "ghosting" or in any way collaborating in the future with named publications.

As my EMT teacher once told us, "If you don't write it down, it didn't happen should you be taken to court over your actions in the field".

 

[Eskimo]

Rather than rehash who did or didn't do what way back when, looking at the information that has been filed with the High Court and released, its all part and parcel of the upcoming hearings. If Meghan didn't have a good case, I don't think the lawyers would have touched it with a 10 foot pole.

Public opinion on this case doesn't really matter. I'll wait for the verdict to be handed down in court. Couldas, wouldas, shouldas and all other suppositions pertaining to things that happened years ago in the relationship between Meghan and her father can't be changed. It is what it is.

This is where you are wrong, IMO. Public opinion is ALL that matters because H&M only have their “brand” as a source of revenue. Without a positive brand image, most revenue sources dry up. If the brand gets too tarnished, a victory in court will be hollow, at best.

 

[lirienn]

What I'm asking here is out of genuine curiosity. How possible is it that with the case in High Court to happen this week, the Sussexes were advised by their legal team ahead of time to issue such statements as a legal intent of their intentions towards the publications named? This avows to the court their intentions of "ghosting" or in any way collaborating in the future with named publications.

As my EMT teacher once told us, "If you don't write it down, it didn't happen should you be taken to court over your actions in the field".

It's still bad timing, PR stunt, the court case when everyone is freaking out and trying to present the united front.

I agree with Eskimo, they don't need to win, they want the fame and to be liked. Brand has to be positive otherwise they'd get problematic. it's like almost no one cares about their issues now and they look very "me me". It's not a good look, not many want to work with someone difficult.

This is where you are wrong, IMO. Public opinion is ALL that matters because H&M only have their “brand” as a source of revenue. Without a positive brand image, most revenue sources dry up. If the brand gets too tarnished, a victory in court will be hollow, at best.

I don't know how to quote 2 people but forgive me I agree. PR is the most important for someone who wants to live off a brand.

 

[evolvingdoors]

Rather than rehash who did or didn't do what way back when, looking at the information that has been filed with the High Court and released, its all part and parcel of the upcoming hearings. If Meghan didn't have a good case, I don't think the lawyers would have touched it with a 10 foot pole.

Public opinion on this case doesn't really matter. I'll wait for the verdict to be handed down in court. Couldas, wouldas, shouldas and all other suppositions pertaining to things that happened years ago in the relationship between Meghan and her father can't be changed. It is what it is.

But the firm that works with the royals didn’t want to touch it. If they thought it was a sure win, no doubt he royal family would have kept with them. Obviously not such a sure win if she had to go and hire an outside firm, didn’t she take a firm that is considered fairly dodgy? (Or is that the other lawsuit?)

Either way, Inhad messy elderly family members.
Meghan is going about this all wrong and messy.
Let’s see texts of her trying to constantly set a date and time for Harry and Thomas to meet face to face and the latter declining... than I might sway on her way on this single issue. (Won’t change my mind about herniverall, because she’s done enough now to cement that).

 

[ACO]

The hearing is Friday, so details were going to come out. They already out today.

 

[Muhler]

I don't know how to quote 2 people but forgive me I agree. PR is the most important for someone who wants to live off a brand.

You click the """ button (next to the quote-button) in several posts and then click the "reply" button and there you go, multi-quote. ?

 

[Zaira]

The texts from Meghan are heartbreaking. It is interesting that it seems Harry and Meghan still blame the media for Thomas' actions versus Thomas himself. I guess it would be hard to wrap one's head around their father treating them like that so maybe its easier to cast blame somewhere else.

Either way, I hope Friday's hearing goes well for Meghan.

 

[evolvingdoors]

So I was just wondering, the hearings start Friday, and Megahn in LA..
How is that gonna work time wise?
LA is 8 time zones behind of London.

Will they do the hearing in the evening London time/morning LA time?

 

[Lumutqueen]

Harry & Meghan: Legal Action Against the Press - October 2019

So I was just wondering, the hearings start Friday, and Megahn in LA..
How is that gonna work time wise?
LA is 8 time zones behind of London.

Will they do the hearing in the evening London time/morning LA time?

I somewhat doubt that Henry or Meghan will have to be present for any of these hearings. They’ve clearly submitted evidence and will more than likely be represented by their legal team.

This is a really interesting excerpt of what’s been submitted;

“Meghan’s lawyers also suggest Thomas Markle claimed to have been hoodwinked into a nine-hour interview with a Mail on Sunday reporter in July 2018. Markle told his daughter in a letter: “He [the reporter] said a few things I said in confidence, but 85% were lies and bullshit! I called him and told him he was a thief, a liar and a coward and I would GET EVEN! ... I didn’t want or intend to give him an interview and I certainly would not do nine hours for free!”

 

[Kataryn]

Maybe if they had spent some time with Thomas Markle before the wedding, all this could have been avoided. There is obviously more to this than what happened in the run up to the wedding. I just find it strange that Harry had not met Thomas prior to the engagement / wedding.

Thomas Markle does not live on another planet, arrangements could have been made for them to meet up privately. They carried out a great deal of the courtship in private, I am sure they could have all met up in private.
For whatever reason that did not happen, it makes you wonder why?

To meet needs two to make it come true.

 

[Madame Verseau]

The texts are really bad. Sr. looks really bad for the contradictions. The odd thing is Meghan maintains the press manipulated him. The judge may disagree and may want Markle to explain himself under oath. If they are teleconferencing the hearing they can get Sr in a room in Mexico and give a sworn statement - and be subject to cross examination.

 

[ACO]

https://www.bylineinvestigates.com/mail/2020/4/20/p5wtrn7d17dgu21nq7gl98o8sg1wls

“The next day [Peter Sheridan] announced and bragged that he got a 9 hour interview. He said a few things I said in confidence, but 85% were lies and bullshit! I called him and told him he was a thief, a liar and a coward and I would GET EVEN!

“I didn’t want or intend to give him an interview and I certainly would not do 9 hours for free!…"

“When I was asked if I tried to borrow money from you, three days before the wedding? I said, “no I did not, but I know she would have helped me if I would have asked.” I made a comment about Tom Jr [his son] not paying me back, “not one red cent”, and they changed it to Meghan’s dad complaining that his kids won’t pay him back one red cent!!"

“I never said anything about your grandma, never!! I know you took care of her, I don’t know where that comes from? I appreciate that you have always been concerned for my health and you were trying to get me help.”


--

I really can't imagine The MoS wants Thomas anywhere near this because he can't keep anything straight. He tossing them under the bus while trying to do the same to Meghan. He really just about himself.