Meghan Won Her Privacy Lawsuit & Her Statement About It Is So, So Powerful

Don't mess with the Duchess of Sussex. Meghan Markle's reaction to winning her privacy lawsuit against the Daily Mail's parent company, Associated Newspapers Limited, is pretty powerful. The activist's win against the company for publishing excerpts of a private letter she wrote to her father is big, and her statement addresses more than just her suit; it directly calls upon news media to publish high-quality stories and actively shut down misinformation campaigns.

Lord Justice Warby ruled the publishing of her letter was "manifestly excessive and hence unlawful" on the part of Associated Newspapers Limited. Prince Harry filed the suit all the way back in October 2019 for posts by The Mail on Sunday from February 2019. The long years of litigation are finally over for his wife, though, and Markle expressed her gratitude for the outcome to the public.

"The world needs reliable, fact-checked, high-quality news. What The Mail on Sunday and its partner publications do is the opposite," Markle said in a statement on Feb. 11 after the decision was announced. "We all lose when misinformation sells more than truth, when moral exploitation sells more than decency, and when companies create their business model to profit from people’s pain. But for today, with this comprehensive win on both privacy and copyright, we have all won."

Markle also characterized the practices of Associated Newspapers Limited and The Mail on Sunday as "illegal and dehumanizing." The original letter was truly private, and meant only for the eyes of her father, Thomas Markle. "For these outlets, it’s a game. For me and so many others, it’s real life, real relationships, and very real sadness. The damage they have done and continue to do runs deep," she stated.

While the decision might have taken nearly two years to arrive, Markle hopes the outcome will hopefully create precedent for future suits. "We now know, and hope it creates legal precedent, that you cannot take somebody’s privacy and exploit it in a privacy case, as the defendant has blatantly done over the past two years," she continued. "I share this victory with each of you — because we all deserve justice and truth, and we all deserve better."

There is a definite boundary between the press and the subjects of their speculation and reports, but clearly, that boundary was crossed. Through the courts, Markle showed no fear moving the boundary back into place, and hopefully keeping it there for good.