British author Mel Elliott, known for her children’s book series “The Power of Pearls,” has accused Meghan Markle of plagiarism, claiming that Markle’s cancelled animated series “Pearl” bears a striking resemblance to her own books, a similarity “too significant to ignore.”
In a statement, Elliott said, “Meghan is a feminist who advocates for other women, so I was both disappointed and disheartened to see how much Netflix’s proposed series ‘Pearl’ resembled my own ‘The Power of Pearls,’ created several years earlier. Of course, I can’t know if anyone from her team saw it and was inspired by it, but the similarity was too great to overlook.”
The animated series, originally announced in 2021, was cancelled less than a year later.
Elliott’s lawyers reportedly wrote to Markle and Netflix in 2021, claiming, “The similarities between the proposed animated series and my client’s work are too substantial and impressive to be mere coincidence. There is also a risk that the proposed series may infringe upon my client’s intellectual property rights and/or may serve as grounds for a misrepresentation lawsuit.”
Elliott further expressed frustration, stating, “What upset me the most was that after I raised the issue with Netflix and Archewell regarding the similarities between my ‘Pearl’ and Meghan’s, neither Netflix nor Archewell responded to my concerns. I would have loved to contribute and collaborate.”
