Meghan Markle Accused Of Plagiarism Over Shelved Netflix Show

Meghan Markle's shelved animated series Pearl, once part of her multi-million dollar deal with Netflix, has come under fresh scrutiny after British author Mel Elliott accused the Duchess of Sussex of plagiarism, the People reported. 

Elliott, best known for her children's book series Pearl Power, has claimed that the premise of Meghan's now-cancelled show bore striking similarities to her work, so much so that she felt compelled to take legal action.

"Meghan is a feminist who sticks up for other women, so I was disappointed and confused to see how similar Netflix's proposed show Pearl was to my own Pearl Power, which had been created seven years earlier," Elliott, 51, told Daily Mail. "Of course, I can't know if anyone on her team had seen it and been inspired by it, but the similarities were too great for me to ignore."

Pearl was announced in 2021 and was set to follow the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who draws inspiration from influential women in history. The project was one of the first to be announced under Meghan and Prince Harry's Archewell Productions partnership with Netflix.

Elliott, who published three Pearl Power books between 2014 and 2016, said she initially wrote to Meghan and Netflix with a personal letter but received no response. Her legal team later sent a formal notice alleging potential copyright infringement and warning that the proposed series could constitute an intellectual property violation.

"The similarities between your proposed animation series and my client's work appear to be too many and too striking to be mere coincidence," the legal letter reportedly stated.

The show was cancelled in May 2022 amid broader content cuts at Netflix, which the company attributed to declining subscriber numbers. Elliott, however, believes her legal action may have played a role in its shelving.

"I am glad that Meghan's Pearl show was dropped, and I hope that I had something to do with it," Elliott said, adding that while she initially stayed silent out of fear of online backlash, she felt compelled to speak up after watching several of Meghan's projects fail to gain traction.

"But what I wanted was to be acknowledged or invited to collaborate. Pearl Power was my dream project, and now if I bring her back, it will look like I copied someone else," she added.

Pearl Power had garnered significant attention during its initial run, with celebrities like Ryan Gosling and Kate Winslet reportedly seen with copies of the book. Victoria Beckham even purchased it for her daughter, Elliott said.

This isn't the first time Meghan has faced creative plagiarism allegations. Last year, fans of Pamela Anderson accused the Duchess of copying the Baywatch star's Cooking with Love concept for her own Netflix series, With Love, Meghan.

As of now, neither Meghan Markle nor Netflix has responded publicly to Elliott's claims.