How Meghan Markle Bankrupted A Major Paparazzi Agency

A major paparazzi agency just filed for bankruptcy and Meghan Markle is partially responsible. Splash News & Picture Agency was sued by the Duchess of Sussex for photos taken of her and her son Archie while out on a private family outing in a Canadian park last year.

Infamous Paparazzi Agency Goes Under Thanks To Meghan Markle

That wasn’t the only financial woe to hit the agency last year. The company, like many others, struggled during the pandemic. With celebrities staying indoors to avoid catching and spreading the deadly coronavirus, paparazzi had fewer targets than usual to photograph. Already reeling from the abruptly changed celebrity landscape, the agency was hit with a lawsuit early in 2020 after a photographer snapped pictures of Meghan Markle out walking with her infant son through a park.

A settlement was rumored to have taken place in December of last year, with a spokesperson for the agency stating that the company “will not take unauthorized photographs of the family of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” but the legal battles are likely not completely resolved just yet. The company is also being sued by a former employee who claimed to have been subjected to sexist remarks and wrongfully terminated. These two lawsuits reportedly left the agency almost $1 million in the hole.

Ironically, this agency had a reputation for going after celebrities for copyright infringement for posting paparazzi snaps on their personal social media accounts. Some of the stars sued by the company included Jennifer Lopez, Liam Hemsworth, and Nicki Minaj, among others.

Markle has been on the winning side in a number of recent court battles, including a recent lawsuit against a British tabloid that published portions of a letter she’d sent her father, Thomas Markle. Since she and her husband, Prince Harry, stepped back from their roles as working royals, the two have been fiercely battling it out in the courts to protect their privacy as they move forward with their lives.