Meghan Markle's new life in the United States has not been seemingly quiet these days amid her fight against the Associated Newspapers. As the court case continues, the controversies have also continued to develop.
On Thursday, the Duchess of Sussex "applied" to the High Court, according to the Daily Express. In the filings, she, reportedly, included a "witness statement" and has since accused the Defendant of "threatening" to release the names of her friends who defended her last year in an anonymous interview.
These five friends of Meghan Markle, reportedly, sat down with People magazine to support and back the Duchess in her fight with the British press. However, the interview in question has since become a material used by the Associated Newspapers to support its defense.
As noted, the former actress is suing the publisher of Mail Online and the Mail on Sunday following their articles, which featured excerpts of her "confidential" letter to her father, Thomas Markle Sr. She accused the Associated Newspapers of "misuse of private information," as well as of "infringement of copyright" and "breach of Data Protection Act 2008," according to Insider.
Meghan Markle, reportedly, issued in her recent statement that the five women are all "young mothers" and "private citizens." She also pointed out that they "made a choice" to speak up anonymously in order to defend her. They are "not on trial," the Duchess said.
She then went on to assert that it is the Mail on Sunday that is on trial. The accusation of threatening to release the name of her five friends is an attempt to "evade accountability," as per the Duchess of Sussex. She then deemed it as a way to "create a circus" and "distract" everyone from the main point of the case, which is the unlawful publishing of her private letter, as per Hello! magazine.
Following the emergence of these reports, a spokesman of the Mail on Sunday, reportedly, went on record to reveal that the publication had "no intention" of releasing the identities of her five friends, as opposed to what the public has since learned.
Nevertheless, the spokesman asserted that their camp sees "no reason" as to why the identities should be kept secret. Accordingly, they, reportedly, told Meghan Markle's lawyers that this should be "considered" by the court.
Amid the continued tension between the two parties, the public's interest over the names and identities of the "five women" has since, reportedly, grown. As stated, many are intrigued to know who these women are.
