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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex received a Boxing Day present of vindication from The Mail on Sunday, as the British newspaper was forced to print a front page apology for publishing a private letter between Meghan and her father.
According to People, on Feb. 11 Judge Mark Warby of the High Court in London ordered The Mail on Sunday to print the apology with a “notice” inside the paper with the headline “The Duchess of Sussex” and, it must also stay on the home page of the Mail Online for one week, the judge ruled.
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So let’s talk about this so-called apology…
“Following a hearing on 19-20 January 2021, and a further hearing on 5 May 2021, the Court has given judgment for The Duchess of Sussex on her claim for copyright infringement.
The Court found that Associated Newspapers infringed her copyright by publishing extracts of her handwritten letter to her father in The Mail on Sunday and in Mail Online.
Financial remedies have been agreed. The full judgment following the 19-20 January hearing and the Court’s summary of it can be found here and here.”
Don’t apologies usually include the words “we’re sorry” somewhere? Or perhaps an admission of guilt?
This basically says “some stuff happened, we lost, and here’s where you can read the legal ruling.”
Even when court-ordered, they just couldn’t bring themselves to treat Meghan like the Princess she is.
As previously reported by The Root, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex filed suit against The Mail on Sunday and Associated Newspapers after it published a private letter from Meghan to her father in February 2019. A statement from Harry accused the paper of “strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words.”
The British press has harassed Meghan since she and Harry started dating, using racism to demean her and their children, while also using her name and image to sell papers and garner clicks.
The newspaper group must also pay financial damages, including 90 percent of Meghan’s legal fees for the 18 month long case.
Following her initial win on Dec. 2 Meghan issued a statement that read in part:
“This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right. While this win is precedent setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create.”
“From day one, I have treated this lawsuit as an important measure of right versus wrong. The defendant has treated it as a game with no rules,” she continued. “The longer they dragged it out, the more they could twist facts and manipulate the public (even during the appeal itself), making a straightforward case extraordinarily convoluted in order to generate more headlines and sell more newspapers—a model that rewards chaos above truth. In the nearly three years since this began, I have been patient in the face of deception, intimidation, and calculated attacks.”
While the “apology” may not be sincere, do not discount the impact of what this means for the British press, which is notoriously ruthless on celebrities. Meghan may have set a precedent that will be felt for years. Just another reason why she’s our Princess.
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