British broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson faced a serious backlash for the column he wrote about hatred for Meghan Markle – with thousands of readers, some political figures and even the princess herself declared that she went too far.
“I hate him. It’s not like I hate it [Scottish First Minister] Nicola Sturgeon or [English serial killer’ Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level,” Clarkson wrote in a column on The Sun, published on Friday, December 16, about Meghan and Prince Harry’s six-part doucseries, Harry & Meghan.
In another section of the since-deleted article, Clarkson — who is known for hosting ITV’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Top Gear — referenced a famous scene from Game of Thrones, writing, “At night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.”
While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have yet to publicly comment on Clarkson’s comments, the couple were beyond candid about the British media in Harry & Meghan.
“My dad said to me, ‘Darling boy, you can’t take on the media. The media will always be the media.’ I said, ‘I disagree.’ I have 30 years’ experience of looking behind the curtain and seeing how this system works and how it runs,” Harry said during episode 4, recalling a conversation with his father, King Charles III. “I mean, just constant briefings about other members of the family, about favors, inviting the press in. It’s a dirty game. You know, there’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories.”
During the same episode, Meghan cited the way her private New York City baby shower was reported on in the U.K. as an example. “It was so wrong. These independent, strong, successful women choose to use their own money, and it’s not taxpayer money, to throw a party for their friend from a place of love. Why are you taking such a beautiful moment and trying to ruin it?” she asked.
The twosome also called out racist remarks made about Meghan during her time working for Queen Elizabeth II alongside Harry. (The twosome announced their decision to step back from their roles as senior roles in January 2020 and their exit was made permanent by early 2021.)
“At that time, I wasn’t thinking about how race played a part in any of this. I genuinely didn’t think about it,” Meghan said on episode 2 before recalling the “Harry’s new girl is (almost) straight outta Compton” headline. “Firstly, I’m not from Compton, I’ve never lived in Compton, so it’s factually incorrect,” she said. “But why do you have to make a dig at Compton?”
The former Suits star — who shares son Archie and daughter Lilibet with Harry — went on to get visibly emotional while talking about the hate that she’s experienced via social media.
“I think for people to really understand, you know, when you plant a seed that is so hateful, what it can grow into. I mean, just a couple of days ago, I was going through the manual for our security team at home, and on one of the pages that I happened to flip to, it was about online monitoring, and they’re like, ‘If you see a tweet like this, please report it to the head of security immediately.’ It just said, ‘Meghan just needs to die. Someone needs to kill her. Maybe it should be me,’” the duchess explained during episode 5. “I’m a mom. That’s my real life. And that’s the piece when you see it and you go, ‘You are making people want to kill me.’ … It’s not just some story. You are making me scared. … Looking down my hallway, like, ‘Are we safe? Are the doors locked? Is security on?’ That’s real. ‘Are my babies safe?’”
Clarkson, meanwhile, hasn’t apologized to Meghan, but tweeted on Monday, December 19, that he was “horrified” that his Game of Thrones reference “caused so much hurt.” The Sun has also deleted his story, adding a message that reads: “In light of Jeremy Clarkson’s tweet he has asked us to take last week’s column down.”
Scroll through for more on the controversy:
Credit: David Fisher/Shutterstock; Gregory Pace/Shutterstock
‘Top Gear’ Host Jeremy Clarkson’s Controversial Comments About Meghan Markle Explained: What to Know
British broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson is facing serious backlash for a column he penned about his hatred for Meghan Markle — with thousands of readers, several political figures and his even own daughter declaring he went too far.
“I hate her. Not like I hate [Scottish First Minister] Nicola Sturgeon or [English serial killer’ Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level,” Clarkson wrote in a column on The Sun, published on Friday, December 16, about Meghan and Prince Harry’s six-part doucseries, Harry & Meghan.
In another section of the since-deleted article, Clarkson — who is known for hosting ITV’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Top Gear — referenced a famous scene from Game of Thrones, writing, “At night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.”
While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have yet to publicly comment on Clarkson’s comments, the couple were beyond candid about the British media in Harry & Meghan.
“My dad said to me, ‘Darling boy, you can’t take on the media. The media will always be the media.’ I said, ‘I disagree.’ I have 30 years’ experience of looking behind the curtain and seeing how this system works and how it runs,” Harry said during episode 4, recalling a conversation with his father, King Charles III. “I mean, just constant briefings about other members of the family, about favors, inviting the press in. It’s a dirty game. You know, there’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories.”
[jwplayer S65aMS8J-zhNYySv2]During the same episode, Meghan cited the way her private New York City baby shower was reported in the UK as an example. “It’s really wrong. This is a strong, successful woman who chose to use her own money, and it’s not taxpayer money, to throw a party for a friend from a place of love. Why are you taking such a beautiful moment and trying to ruin it?” he asked. The two also mentioned racist comments about Meghan when she worked for Queen Elizabeth II alongside Harry. (The two announced their decision to step down from senior roles in January 2020 and exit to become permanent in early 2021.) “At the time, I didn’t think about how race played a part in all of this. “I really didn’t think about it,” Meghan said in episode 2 before recalling the headline “Harry’s new girlfriend (almost) straight out of Compton”. ” he said. “But why should you make a dig at Compton?” ex Suit star – who shares son Archie and daughter Lilibet with Harry – continued to get emotional when talking about the hatred she has experienced through social media. “I think that people really understand, you know, when you plant a seed of hate, it can grow into what it is. to the head of security directly.’ It just says, ‘Meghan just needs to die. Someone needs to kill her. Maybe it should be me,'” the Duchess explained during episode 5. “I am a mother. That’s real life. And that’s a piece when you look at it and you go, ‘You make someone want to kill me.’ … It’s not just a story. You scare me. … Looking down my hallway, like, ‘Are we safe? Are the doors locked? Is security on?’ It’s real. ‘Are my babies safe?’ “Meanwhile, Clarkson has yet to apologize to Meghan, but tweeted on Monday, December 19, that she was “terrified” that she Game of Thrones reference “causing great pain.” Sun has also deleted the story, adding a message that read: “According to Jeremy Clarkson’s tweet, he asked for last week’s column to be taken down.” Scroll through for more on the controversy:
Credit: Brian J Ritchie/Hotsauce/Shutterstock
What did Jeremy Clarkson write about Meghan Markle?
Clarkson references season 5 episodes of game of thrones, Cersei’s (Lena Headey) was forced to do the “Walk of Atonement”.
“At night I can’t sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when he is ordered to be paraded naked through the streets of every town in England while the crowd chants, ‘Shame!’ and threw a wad of excrement at him,” Clarkson wrote in a column for Sunclaiming that everyone my age thinks the same way” about Meghan.
Credit: James Veysey/Shutterstock
The Backlash
The BBC reported that more than 12,000 complaints had been lodged with Ipso, the independent press standards organization about Clarkson’s words. By comparison, a total of 14,355 complaints were filed in all of 2021.
Sturgeon, who was also referenced in the story, called Clarkson’s comments “truly appalling and appalling,” she said. The Times: “My overwhelming feeling about a guy like Jeremy Clarkson is pity. I mean, what makes people so twisted by hate that they write these things? I’m the one who can give insight into Jeremy Clarkson and the kind of person he is. So maybe he should just back off from everything and just thinking about life.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also weighed in, tweeting, “As Jeremy Clarkson should also know – words have consequences. The words in the piece are no joke – dangerous and unacceptable. We are in an epidemic of violence against women and girls and men with voices that powerful must be better than this.
John Nicolson, journalist Scottish SNP Member of Parliament for Ochil and South Perthshire, has asked Clarkson to be taken off the air, stating, “I have consistently defended the freedom of the press. However, this has crossed the line.
Credit: With Emily Clarkson/Instagram
What does Jeremy Clarkson have to say about Meghan Markle’s Story?
Clarkson’s daughter Emily slammed his father’s words on Sunday, December 18.
“My view is and always has been clear about misogyny, bullying and the treatment of women by the media,” wrote the podcast host via Instagram Stories. “I want to make it clear that I am against everything my father has written about Meghan Markle and I stand by those who are being targeted with hate online.”
Credit: Dominic Lipinski/WPA Pool/Shutterstock
How Is Queen Camilla Related To Jeremy Clarkson?
The palace has yet to comment Harry and Meghan – or Clarkson’s comments. Charles’ wife, however, was dragged into the mess as Clarkson was a guest at a lunch hosted by the queen consort just days before the column dropped. The two also reportedly crossed paths at a lunch they attended Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Piers Morgan this month.
Credit: ITV/Steve Brown/Shutterstock
How Jeremy Clarkson Handled the Meghan Markle Controversy?
“Oh my god. I’d rather put my feet up. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made an awkward reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down a lot with a lot of people,” he tweeted on December 19. “I’m afraid it has caused pain and I will be more careful in the future.”
Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
How did the ‘Sun’ respond?
“Columnists’ opinions are their own, but as publishers, we understand that with free expression comes responsibility,” the outlet wrote in a public apology published on December 23. Sun I apologize for publishing this article and apologize.
The British newspaper confirmed that the article had been “removed from our website and archives,” noting that it had “a proud history of campaigning, from Help for Heroes to Army Jabs and Those Who Care Win, and more than 50 years of working with charities.”
The statement concluded: “We will continue to campaign for a good cause for our readers in 2023.”
Credit: Usa Network/Netflix/Kobal/Shutterstock
Is Meghan Markle Accepting Forgiveness?
A spokesman for the author Bench slammed the remorseful statement. “The fact that The Sun has not contacted the Duchess of Sussex to apologize shows its intent. This is nothing more than a PR stunt,” the representative said in a statement to The Guardian on December 24. “While the public really deserves the publication’s regret for its harmful comments, we would not be in this situation if the Sun did not continue to profit and exploit hate, violence and misogyny. A true apology would be a change in coverage and ethical standards for everyone. Unfortunately, we’re not holding our breath.”
Credit: ITV/Shutterstock; Vito Corleone/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
How Does Harry Respond?
Harry spoke to Tom Bradby about the article in a January 8 sit-down interview for the British broadcaster ITV. “It’s not just what [Clarkson] said horrible and hurtful and cruel to my wife, but also encouraged others around the UK and around the world, especially people, to go and think that it is acceptable to treat women,” said the Duke.
He cited Queen Consort Camilla’s recent speech advocating for an end to violence against women as well. “To use my stepmother’s words recently too, there is a global pandemic of violence against women.”
The British expat added that he was disappointed Buckingham Palace did not respond to the inflammatory op-ed. “It is no longer a case of me asking for accountability, but at this time, the world is asking for accountability and the world is asking for some comments from the monarchy. he said.