Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have responded to reports they are planning legal action over their roasting by cartoon show South Park.
Tensions have reportedly been high in Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s California home since their humiliating portrayal was revealed last week.
In an episode titled “The Worldwide Privacy Tour”, South Park lampooned the couple. Although it didn’t mention either by name, it featured references to Harry’s best-selling memoir, redubbed Waaaagh, and described Meghan as a “sorority girl, actress, influencer, victim”.
It also showed the “prince and princess of Canada” on a TV talk show, where they walk out chanting “we want privacy”. Both hold signs, with hers saying “stop looking at us”, and they are booed by the audience.
Friends told the publication that Meghan was “upset and overwhelmed” by the episode.
“California sources” told The Spectator that Harry and Meghan were “taking it out on each other”. The duchess was said to be annoyed, although she has reportedly refused to watch the show.
Then, earlier this week, there were reports the Sussexes planned to sue. But they were quickly scotched by a representative on Wednesday (Australian time).
“It’s all frankly nonsense. Totally baseless, boring reports,” a spokesperson told People magazine.
Royal commentator Kristen Meinzer told Newsweek earlier she doubted the couple would sue a “satirical cartoon that famously ridicules everyone.”
“If anything, they’ll know they’re in good company with other decent people who’ve been raked over the coals by the show,” she said.
The South Park tensions follow the extensive fallout from the revelations in the prince’s book (actually titled Spare) and the couple’s six-part Netflix series late in 2022.
The Sussexes are also embroiled in legal action brought by Meghan’s half-sister. Samantha Markle is suing for defamation following Meghan and Harry’s 2021 tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.
According to court documents, Ms Markle wants more than $100,000 in damages “based on demonstrably false and malicious statements made by her half-sister to a worldwide audience”.
Papers in the civil case show that Ms Markle alleges her half-sister:
Exposed her to “humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale”;
Misrepresented their relationship when they were growing up, giving the impression they were “virtual strangers” and she had “no relationship whatsoever with her sister Meghan”;
“Falsely and maliciously stated” she was “an only child”;
Pursued a “false rags-to-royalty narrative”, claiming childhood hardship, which destroyed her half-sister and father’s “reputation and credibility”.
Earlier in February, the duchess lost a bid to avoid giving evidence. A Florida judge denied her application to stop the discovery process pending a motion to have the case dismissed.
However, judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell said a “preliminary peek” suggested some of Ms Markle’s claims “may be ripe for dismissal.”
Meghan’s lawyers told the BBC it was a “vague and ambiguous” request and “not relevant to any party’s claim or defence”.
The South Park and legal troubles come as tensions remain high between the couple and Harry’s family. Neither the royals nor the Sussexes have yet confirmed if Harry and Meghan will attend his father’s coronation on May 6.
-with agencies
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