Harry & Meghan: Legal Actions against the Media

ACO · #1 10-01-2019, 02:41 PM

Well things are about to get interesting. Harry and Meghan are suing the Mail on Sunday.

Full statement here:

https://sussexofficial.uk/

HighGoalHighDreams · #2 10-01-2019, 03:08 PM

I applaud Harry for taking the action he believes is right instead of the one he believes is easy. I specifically single out Harry here because he represents this "right rather than easy" as his own thoughts, rather than those of his wife Meghan. I wish to applaud her too if these are her feelings.

I wish this statement by Harry had omitted two things: the reference to his son, and the reference to his mother. The reference to his son was, in my opinion, not relevant in the way it was used. It felt it was added in as "this all happened while she was pregnant and a new mother," and if these allegations are true, they should not have occurred whether Meghan was pregnant or a new mother or not. Period. This treatment was not inappropriate because of her status as a pregnant woman or a mother, it was inappropriate because of her status as a human being. As for the reference to his mother, not only is everyone aware of what happened, but no other individual would get away with saying they are launching a legal action because they lost a family member when something similar happened. It would, and should, be set aside as irrelevant. I am sure my feelings on this will not be popular.

Humbugged · #3 10-01-2019, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HighGoalHighDreams

I applaud Harry for taking the action he believes is right instead of the one he believes is easy. I specifically single out Harry here because he represents this "right rather than easy" as his own thoughts, rather than those of his wife Meghan. I wish to applaud her too if these are her feelings.

I wish this statement by Harry had omitted two things: the reference to his son, and the reference to his mother. The reference to his son was, in my opinion, not relevant in the way it was used. It felt it was added in as "this all happened while she was pregnant and a new mother," and if these allegations are true, they should not have occurred whether Meghan was pregnant or a new mother or not. Period. This treatment was not inappropriate because of her status as a pregnant woman or a mother, it was inappropriate because of her status as a human being. As for the reference to his mother, not only is everyone aware of what happened, but no other individual would get away with saying they are launching a legal action because they lost a family member when something similar happened. It would, and should, be set aside as irrelevant. I am sure my feelings on this will not be popular.

There is precedent for them winning this .Charles sued when they published letters of his and won citing copyright

Osipi · #4 10-01-2019, 03:20 PM

I am over the moon happy to read Harry's statement in regards to taking legal actions on this matter. What impresses me the most is that both Harry and Meghan have taken the path to fight bullying in an adult and a responsible manner through legal channels rather than addressing their bullies themselves.

Even more, should they win this lawsuit, the awarded monies will be donated to an anti-bullying campaign organization. *This* is putting your money where your mouth and beliefs are and I seriously hope they do win their case against the Mail on Sunday and the Associated Newspapers.

Perhaps if more legal action was taken like this, those that write, print or put online their stories will start to revert to credible journalism. At least I hope so.

DuchessMia · #5 10-01-2019, 03:34 PM

What a powerful statement from Harry. I’m glad he isn’t keeping calm and carrying on. The tabs were acting as if their endgame was a tunnel in Paris. It’s been entirely too much. There’s legitimate criticisms and there’s a patterned attack to demean and dehumanize a person. I fully believe they put Meghan and Archie in danger and made keeping them safe a larger chore.

SLV · #6 10-01-2019, 03:37 PM

Well done to H&M. I hope they win.

Rudolph · #7 10-01-2019, 03:39 PM

They should sue Thomas Markle as well. He sold the letter to the Mail on Sunday.

Chloep · #8 10-01-2019, 03:42 PM

Long overdue & well done! And I particularly enjoyed him remarking on the sudden 'shift' in the British press coverage - he is absolutely right! Not setting any boundaries around Meghan years and years ago emboldened the British press pack enormously and allowed the situation to escalate to this point, I am happy that the new team behind the Sussexes at least sees the importance of rectifying this.

Precedence is certainly on their side.

ACO · #9 10-01-2019, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Humbugged

There is precedent for them winning this .Charles sued when they published letters of his and won citing copyright

They sure do. Also worth noting at the time it happened people pointed out this could occur as she has the copyright. This take guts to do this on the eve of the tour closing but clearly they have had enough.

O-H Anglophile · #10 10-01-2019, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HighGoalHighDreams

I wish this statement by Harry had omitted two things: the reference to his son, and the reference to his mother. The reference to his son was, in my opinion, not relevant in the way it was used. It felt it was added in as "this all happened while she was pregnant and a new mother," and if these allegations are true, they should not have occurred whether Meghan was pregnant or a new mother or not. Period. This treatment was not inappropriate because of her status as a pregnant woman or a mother, it was inappropriate because of her status as a human being. As for the reference to his mother, not only is everyone aware of what happened, but no other individual would get away with saying they are launching a legal action because they lost a family member when something similar happened. It would, and should, be set aside as irrelevant. I am sure my feelings on this will not be popular.

I agree with both your points.

Dman · #11 10-01-2019, 03:53 PM

DAMN! There you go Harry! He came out swinging like hell in that letter. I knew one was coming. The outside forces needed to be put in their place.

Betsypaige · #12 10-01-2019, 04:04 PM

I’m so happy and thrilled that Harry isn’t sitting back and allowing the media to have their way. The media probably assumed that they could get away with hounding Meghan like a pack of wolves on the trail of prey, but now they’ve been put on notice that there are consequences to their actions.

I couldn’t disagree more with the criticism of Harry referencing pregnant and eventual mum Meghan and his own mum. This is his personal statement, spoken from the heart, and it’s as a husband, father and son that he’s speaking. This is not an argument to be heard before the Court. When and if that time comes, I’m sure the lawyers representing Harry and Meghan will only make arguments that are relevant to the case. That is the time for cutting the extraneous references - not now.

I love that Harry opened himself up to the public, explaining why he felt compelled to pursue a court action.

tommy100 · #13 10-01-2019, 04:10 PM

Whilst I am happy they are taking action against the Mail for this I wish they would also take action against Thomas Markle and also wish they hadn't announced it during an official tour.
Otherwise, nice move,

HereditaryPrincess · #14 10-01-2019, 04:21 PM

Go Harry

I'm most curious about how on earth did the Fail manage to get a hold of such an intimate letter. Even for a tabloid, this is pushing a new low.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy100

Whilst I am happy they are taking action against the Mail for this I wish they would also take action against Thomas Markle and also wish they hadn't announced it during an official tour.
Otherwise, nice move,

I agree; though I'm glad that the Sussexes have decided to take action against the Daily Fail. It was much needed. However, Thomas Markle should have been sued a long time ago too, but I guess on the flip side; it's slightly different when he's Meghan's father, even though he hasn't been much of one lately.

ACO · #15 10-01-2019, 04:44 PM

Can they sue Thomas? He didn’t publish it and technically didn’t “sell” it.

Rudolph · #16 10-01-2019, 04:57 PM

Statement from Mail On Sunday: “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.”

Via Chris Ship Twitter

Pranter · #17 10-01-2019, 05:03 PM

Well that is certainly up for interpertation ...'edited in any way that changed it's meaning' .... will be interesting to see how that falls out.

I think it's great they are taking a stand. We don't know (yet) if any action has been taken against her father or if it can be taken. U.K. laws are different than ours I think.

I hope they win a ton of money for the charity.

It will be interesting to see if the various media outlets/reporters retaliate.

LaRae

Osipi · #18 10-01-2019, 05:09 PM

I think that the main point is that as Meghan was the author of the letter, its contents are deemed her intellectual property. The face that the statement from the Mail on Sunday states that the letter wasn't edited in any way to change it meaning, tells me that it *was* edited. As Meghan's intellectual property, they had no right to edit it *at all* if I'm not mistaken.

Dman · #19 10-01-2019, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pranter

Well that is certainly up for interpertation ...'edited in any way that changed it's meaning' .... will be interesting to see how that falls out.

I think it's great they are taking a stand. We don't know (yet) if any action has been taken against her father or if it can be taken. U.K. laws are different than ours I think.

I hope they win a ton of money for the charity.

It will be interesting to see if the various media outlets/reporters retaliate.

LaRae

They will likely try. The outside forces don’t like to be hit back after their smear campaigns. They like the royals to be silent and just sit down and take it. That’s not going to happen here.

O-H Anglophile · #20 10-01-2019, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudolph

Statement from Mail On Sunday: “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.”

Via Chris Ship Twitter

"In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year."
https://sussexofficial.uk/

I think there is no question they used parts of the letter to spin a story that had been perpetuated-mean Meghan cutting off her poor father who didn't know what he'd done to be treated that way. Most people have had it with that narrative.