Harry and Meghan Volume II trailer
The row surrounding Jeremy Clarkson’s column about Meghan Markle has continued this week, with the former Top Gear presenter widely condemned for his remarks.
In his op-ed for The Sun, published on Friday (16 December) the 62-year-old wrote that he dreamt of the day Markle would be made to parade naked through Britain while the crowd chanted “shame” and threw “excrement” at her.
Clarkson claimed that “everyone who’s my age thinks the same way”.
The Sun has now removed Clarkson’s comment piece from its website. “In light of Jeremy Clarkson’s tweet he has asked us to take last week’s column down,” the page now reads.
A number of fellow celebrities and public figures, including London mayor Sadiq Khan and Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon, have criticised Clarkson.
Sturgeon said she pities the former Top Gear presenter, describing his words as “deeply misogynist” and “downright awful and horrible”.
Other critics included Clarkson’s own daughter Emily, who has previously spoken out against online misogyny and harassment.
Ipso confirmed on Monday 19 December that it had received over 6,000 complaints about the presenter’s column.
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More than 12,000 people have complained about Clarkson’s comments
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) has received more than 12,000 complaints over Clarkson’s column in The Sun, which has since been removed.
A spokesperson for the media watchdog said: “We will follow our usual processes to examine the complaints we have received. This will take longer than usual because of the volume of complaints.”
Tom Murray20 December 2022 05:37
MP John Nicolson says ‘Jeremy Clarkson shouldn’t be allowed back on our screens’
The Scottish National Party MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, John Nicolson, has criticised Jeremy Clarkson for his “grotesque comments made about the First Minster and The Duchess of Sussex”.
On Monday (19 December), Nicolson posted a photograph of a complaint letter he wrote to the Chief Executive of ITV.
“I do not believe Jeremy Clarkson should be allowed back on our screens,” he added in the caption.
Peony Hirwani20 December 2022 05:00
A reminder of what Clarkson has said so far
In an op-ed for The Sun published on Friday (16 December), Clarkson wrote that he loathes the Duchess of Sussex “on a cellular level” and wants people to “throw lumps of excrement” at her.
“Everyone who’s my age thinks the same way,” Clarkson added.
Following the backlash, Clarkson wrote on Twitter: “Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down badly with a great many people. I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future.”
Tom Murray20 December 2022 04:28
Jeremy Clarkson vows to ‘be more careful’ as Meghan column gets 12,000 complaints
Jeremy Clarkson has pledged to be “more careful in future” after his comments about Meghan Markle and others in a newspaper column drew more than 12,000 complaints.
Peony Hirwani20 December 2022 04:00
Queen Camilla under fire for hosting lunch attended by Clarkson and Piers Morgan
Days before Clarkson’s column about Markle, it was reported that Camilla, Queen Consort, invited the presenter and Piers Morgan, another vocal critic of the Sussexes, to a private lunch.
The day after the party, Netflix released the final three episodes of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s tell-all documentary series about their time in the royal family.
The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
Tom Murray20 December 2022 03:32
Nicola Sturgeon says she ‘pities’ Clarkson
Scotland’s First Minister was among the high-profile figures criticising the former Top Gear host.
“I have to say, taking a step back from it, my overwhelming emotion about guys like Jeremy Clarkson is pity,” she told broadcasters on Monday.
“I mean, what is it that makes somebody so distorted by hate that they end up writing these things?”
Tom Murray20 December 2022 02:37
Jeremy Clarkson’s daughter has been praised for speaking out against her dad
Clarkson’s daughter Emily was quick to make clear that she stood “against everything” her father had said about the duchess in his column.
“My views are and have always been clear when it comes to misogyny, bullying and the treatment of women by the media,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories.
Royal commentator and author Carol Vorderman tweeted that Emily was “wonderful” and added: “FYI Emily has spoken many times about how she suffered very badly from online abuse when she was younger.”
Tom Murray20 December 2022 01:44
Britain is ‘not a racist country’, says Rishi Sunak said when questioned about Jeremy Clarkson’s comments
Rishi Sunak says Britain is ‘not racist’ after Clarkson’s comments on Duchess of Sussex
Tom Murray20 December 2022 01:02
“Why is Jeremy Clarkson so threatened by Meghan Markle?” That’s the question explored by The Independent’s Voices Commissioning Editor Harriet Williamson.
“It riles Clarkson and his ilk – the Piers Morgans and the Dan Woottons of the world – so much that a beautiful, successful, articulate woman of colour hasn’t just swallowed a sustained campaign of bullying,” she writes. “Instead, she’s held up a mirror to British society, and what we see in it is extremely uncomfortable.”
Read Williamson’s full article here.
Tom Murray20 December 2022 00:24
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