A lawyer from the Howard Kennedy firm in Britain is urging Meghan Markle to drop her lawsuit against the Associated Newspapers. Mark Stephens gave this unsolicited advice to the Duchess of Sussex and warned that she could become a victim of the "Streisand effect."
Stephens said that Meghan's fight to reclaim her privacy from the press could have its downside. The lawyer explained that the more the Duchess of Sussex pushes to protect her private life, the more these tabloids will "amplify" their stories about Meghan Markle.
The lawyer said that this is what's known as the Streisand effect, so named after the famous singer Barbra Streisand. Two decades ago, the singer apparently tried to suppress the press who took pictures of her and her family without her consent in Malibu.
But by doing so, Streisand drew further negative attention and the paparazzi increased its activities around the singer. Experts said that Streisand's case is a classic example of "psychological reactance," which makes people more curious and motivated to pry and spread information when something is being hidden from them.
Stephens said that it's already happening to Meghan as the Associated Newspapers won the third pre-trial round against her. The court granted the publication the right to include the book, Finding Freedom, in their arguments for the actual trial in 2021.
According to Stephens this is another blow to Prince Harry's wife because Associated Newspapers and its publication, the Daily Mail, seems intent on finding out how she "curates her reputation." At the moment, the lawyer said that Meghan's reputation is still not damaged but things might change once the cross-examination begins.
The legal team of Associated Newspapers plans to prove in court that Meghan and Harry were the source of the biography. Despite their denial that they did not collaborate with the authors of Finding Freedom, the other camp's lawyers are now digging up evidence that will contradict the Sussex pair's statements.
A new report from Daily Mail suggested that Meghan and Harry met with the authors as early as 2018 to work on Finding Freedom. Frustrated by her press coverage, Meghan Markle allegedly wanted to release a book that would be favorable to her.
If this will be proven true in court, then, it will break the claims of the Duchess of Sussex that Associated Newspapers invaded her privacy. By giving accounts of her private life to Finding Freedom, Meghan Markle herself is carrying out her own PR and isn't really keen on keeping a private life.
