The Duchess of Sussex's estranged father, Thomas Markle, says he supports his daughter Samantha in her lawsuit against Meghan

• Thomas Markle said he supported Samantha Markle in her lawsuit against Meghan.
• Meghan's half sister is suing her after the duchess' interview with Oprah, alleging defamation.

Thomas Markle said he supported his eldest daughter, Samantha Markle, in her lawsuit against her half sister, the Duchess of Sussex.

Samantha Markle, 57, filed a defamation lawsuit against Meghan Markle, 40, following comments the duchess made about her family during her Oprah Winfrey interview, TMZ reported on March 3. According to documents obtained by TMZ, Samantha is accusing Meghan of lying to the press and falsely spinning a "rags to royalty" narrative.

She alleged the duchess lied when she said Samantha changed her last name back to Markle only after Meghan started dating Prince Harry, TMZ reported. She said Meghan's harsh words had hurt the sales of her autobiography, prevented her from getting jobs, and caused emotional and mental distress, according to court documents viewed by the news outlet.

"She changed her last name back to Markle in — I think she was in her early 50s at that time — only when I started dating Harry," the duchess told Winfrey in an interview that aired in March 2021. "So I think that says enough."

Meghan added of her half sister: "When you talk about betrayal, betrayal comes from someone that you have a relationship with. I don't feel comfortable talking about people that I really don't know."

Thomas addressed the lawsuit during a conversation with the celebrity photographer Karl Larsen that was uploaded to his YouTube channel on Sunday.

Larsen asked Thomas if he would be willing to give a deposition to the court, which he said he would be "more than happy" to do. Thomas, who has been estranged from his daughter since she married into the royal family in 2018, said it would be an opportunity to see her face-to-face.

"I've been trying for almost four years to get to see my daughter and her ginger husband in a courtroom face-to-face," Thomas said. "I haven't seen them face-to-face or my grandchildren, so I'd be thrilled to come to court and talk and defend my oldest daughter."

A spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex hasn't responded to Thomas' comments. But Meghan's lawyer Michael Kump told "ET Canada" earlier this month that Samantha's lawsuit was "baseless" and "absurd" and that he would give it the "minimum attention necessary."

Following the news of Samantha's lawsuit, BuzzFeed published a report titled "Meghan Markle's Biggest Troll Is Her Half-Sister Samantha." In it, the reporter Ellie Hall investigated Samantha's use of various Twitter accounts over the past four years that Hall said appeared to publicly criticize Meghan and promote damaging and "potentially defamatory claims" about her half sister.

Representatives for the Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Insider was unable to reach Samantha for comment on her lawsuit.