Thomas Markle is pushing back after his daughter Samantha claimed he was stranded during a powerful earthquake in the Philippines this week.
Samantha Markle took to social media on Tuesday, telling followers that her 81-year-old father was “stuck on the 19th floor of a building” and unable to get out after the quake. She later updated her post a day later, thanking people for their concern and saying he was safe but still figuring out how to leave the building.
But Thomas told TMZ none of that was true. “I’m currently sitting on the couch in my hotel room, with my feet kicked up and watching Charlie Chan movies. I’m quite comfortable,” he said.
He explained that while the earthquake did happen about 100 miles away, his hotel wasn’t close to the hardest-hit areas and he was never in danger.
The retired Hollywood lighting director said he has not been in touch with Samantha and doesn’t know why she made the claim in the first place. Instead, he said he’s in the Philippines for a very different reason: looking into potential places to live after previously spending time in Mexico.
Thomas Markle has been living mostly out of the spotlight in recent years but remains estranged from his younger daughter, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Their relationship fell apart around the time of her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry after he staged paparazzi photos that made headlines around the world.
While Samantha’s post suggested he had gone through a harrowing ordeal, Thomas insisted his reality was far more mundane. Far from being stranded, he said he was resting comfortably in his hotel room, unworried about the quake and focused on his movies.
The public contradiction adds another layer of drama to the already complicated Markle family story, which has played out in interviews, social media posts, and tabloids since Meghan became engaged to Prince Harry.
For Thomas, however, this time it wasn’t about estrangement or family feuds but simply correcting the record about where he was and how he was doing during the quake.