Meghan Markle's new legal battle raises red flags, experts say: 'Trail of damaged and destroyed relationships'

foxnews.com:

Meghan Markle is in a legal war with her estranged half-sister that likely won’t hurt her brand, but some experts are wondering what this latest chapter in an ongoing family drama will mean for the Sussexes.

In 2022, Samantha Markle sued the Duchess of Sussex for allegedly making "false" statements to Oprah Winfrey in a 2021 interview.The elder sibling accused the former American actress of defamation "based on demonstrably false and malicious statements." Samantha alleged that the duchess' "lies" were "designed to destroy [her] reputation" and have subjected her to "humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale." Annie Pace Scranton, CEO of Pace Public Relations, told Fox News Digital she has no doubt the Duchess of Sussex will follow the royal motto of "keep calm, carry on." "I don't think this lawsuit will impact Meghan Markle's image at all because the American public has, in large part, already formed their opinions about her," said Pace Scranton. "She's said repeatedly that her priority is her family and doing good in the world, which I think is wonderful. [That] should continue to be her focus." Doug Eldridge, celebrity branding expert and founder of Achilles PR, told Fox News Digital this new conflict may garner sympathy for the 41-year-old, whose family is known for being outspoken.

But after a while, he warned, this will work against her and raise questions from a wary public. "The problem is that this is not a viable long-term strategy in the context of victim marketing or victim branding, if you will," he explained. "The problem is that it only goes so far.That's not something that you can build a long-term brand on...