Could Meghan Markle Be Considering Legal Action Over Reports She Stole Designer Gown?

Meghan Markle is fighting back. 

The Duchess of Sussex is once again denying reports that she stole an expensive designer gown from a photoshoot. And it’s possible she might be considering taking legal action against people who have called her a thief. 

Meghan Markle accused of stealing designer gown from photoshoot

In 2022, Meghan wore a striking $1,700 emerald green Galvan “Ushuaia” gown for a Variety photoshoot. The Suits star was spotted wearing the exact same dress in her new Netflix special With Love Meghan: Holiday Celebration. That led to claims that she’d walked off with the dress following the shoot. 

But a representative for the royal told Radar that Meghan definitely did not take the dress without permission. 

“The insinuation that the Duchess of Sussex took any items from a photoshoot without the full knowledge and agreement of the on-set stylists or their teams is categorically false, but also highly defamatory,” Liam Maguire, director of communications in the U.K. and Europe for the Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, said. “Any items retained were done so transparently and in strict accordance with contractual arrangements.”

“Individually and collectively, these statements assert that the Duchess committed theft or acted dishonestly,” Maguire added. “They are false, unsubstantiated, and have caused serious harm to her reputation.”

Duchess of Sussex has ‘gone nuclear’ over claims she stole dress

This isn’t the first time that Meghan has pushed back against claims she’s stocking her personal wardrobe with pilfered goods. But her latest statement suggests she’s considering other ways to defend herself.

“It is rare for Meghan to hit out at tabloid tales so publicly, and to use language such as ‘highly defamatory’ shows she really has gone nuclear over this and is clearly raging at the insinuations in the story about the dress,” an expert told Radar.

Meghan might even be considering taking legal action against the blogs and podcasts that originally reported that she’d stolen the green dress and other items, a source close to her said.

Journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis addressed allegations that Meghan had sticky fingers during an appearance on the Heretics podcast earlier this year (via NewsNation). She discussed incidents from before Meghan’s marriage to Harry where items went missing. Grigoriadis alleged that it’s a pattern that has continued in to the present. 

“I think that’s what might be most surprising to people because she’s now somebody who’s now, I mean, I can’t remember the exact figures, but what was it? $100 million for the Netflix documentary, $20 million for Spotify, despite having done pretty much no work, being called effing grifters for the work that they did in that,” she said. “You would think that this is somebody who now has a reputation to uphold and doesn’t need the money, but she’s been stealing stuff.”

If Meghan is a thief, that doesn’t fit with her public image as a do-gooder. 

“It’s that [Markle’s] trying to pretend she’s some sort of heroic, worthy, charity-giving, feminist, whatever, when actually she’s the diva, money-grabbing, stealing person, who we might admire if they weren’t just pretending they’re something else,” Grigoriadis said. 

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