Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, and her estranged half-sister Samantha Markle are set to go to trial next year over a defamation lawsuit, according to The Messenger News.

Samantha alleges that Meghan defamed her during an interview with Oprah Winfrey when she claimed to have grown up as an only child.

Samantha argues that this statement, along with Meghan’s comment that she doesn’t really know her, was defamatory.

Samantha is now seeking $75,000 in damages.

The case was initially dismissed by a judge in March, but an amended complaint was filed the following month.

In May, Meghan attempted to have the amended complaint dismissed, but the judge has yet to rule on the request.

Court documents obtained by The Messenger reveal that the trial is scheduled to begin on November 4th, 2024, in Tampa, Florida, and is expected to last five days.

However, Peter Tickton, Samantha’s attorney, suggests that it could potentially be extended.

Earlier this month, a federal judge heard arguments in Samantha’s defamation lawsuit against Meghan.

On November 14th, the same judge set the trial date for November 2024, with in-person meetings scheduled beforehand.

This indicates that the case will proceed to trial, as Meghan’s lawyers failed to have it dismissed.

While Harry, Meghan’s husband, is not directly involved in the trial, both the plaintiff and defendant will have access to all relevant information related to the lawsuit.

This includes any digital communication between Meghan and her staff, as well as between Oprah and her staff.

All text messages, voicemails, emails, and financial transactions deemed relevant will be examined.

It is worth noting that there were suspicions of payment made to Meghan through Harry’s executive producer salary for the show “The Me You Can’t See,” which aired prior to the Oprah interview.

It is important to highlight that paying for interviews is considered a significant ethical violation in journalism.

It is expected that Samantha’s lawyer, who is experienced in dealing with celebrity cases, will attempt to demonstrate that all the questions asked during the interview were pre-submitted to Meghan.

Furthermore, it is likely that Meghan provided Oprah with specific questions she wanted to be asked.

These revelations would undermine Meghan’s claim of misspeaking, as it suggests that the Q&A session was rehearsed, if not scripted.

Such actions would also raise serious concerns about journalistic ethics.

There is a possibility that Oprah Winfrey herself will be deposed, although she may try to avoid it.

If Oprah is subpoenaed to appear in person for the trial, the public interest in her presence will be immense.

This could motivate the judge to grant the press’ request for video cameras in the courtroom, allowing the proceedings to be captured for public viewing.

The news of the upcoming trial has generated significant attention and discussion.

One Reddit user commented on the potential revelations, expressing satisfaction that Meghan and Harry have this legal battle hanging over their heads.

They anticipate that the trial will expose various aspects that the couple would prefer to keep hidden.

Additionally, they criticize Meghan for allegedly engaging in slut-shaming, single mom-shaming, divorce-shaming, poverty-shaming, and disability-shaming towards her own sister, as documented in a book intended for a global audience.

Another analysis points out that Oprah’s decision to remove the interview from the internet and cable archives suggests her awareness of airing falsehoods.

If the discovery process reveals that Oprah knew or reasonably should have known that Meghan was spreading lies, yet still broadcasted the interview, it could potentially lead to a larger lawsuit against Oprah.