Inside Jeremy Clarkson's Meghan Markle scandal - shocking rant to personal apology to Sussexes
Jeremy sparked thousands of complaints with his comments about MeghanJeremy Clarkson and Meghan Markle were caught up in a row in 2022 after his comments about her went viral, resulting in an apology from him.
British TV star Jeremy, who is 65 today (April 11), had hit out at the Duchess of Sussex in a column in The Sun, published in December 2022.
It soon sparked backlash, with many people shocked at his words about the royal. Jeremy had said that he hated Meghan, 43, on a “cellular level”.
What did Jeremy Clarkson say about Meghan Markle?
Back in December 2022, Jeremy wrote in his column for The Sun that he hated Meghan on a “cellular level”.
He also said he dreamed of the day he would see her “parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her”.
Jeremy wrote: “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.”
Unsurprisingly, a tsunami of criticism landed on Jeremy’s head.
Did Jeremy Clarkson apologise to Meghan Markle?
In January 2023, Jeremy revealed that he had apologised to Meghan and Prince Harry for his comments.
He said on Instagram: “One of the strange things I’ve noticed in recent times is that whenever an MP or a well-known person is asked to apologise for something, no matter how heartfelt or profound that apology may be, it’s never enough for the people who called for it in the first place.
“So I’m going to try and buck the trend this morning with an apology for the things I said in a Sun column recently about Meghan Markle.
I was mortified and so was everyone else. My phone went mad.
“I really am sorry. All the way from the balls of my feet to the follicles on my head.”
He continued: “This is me putting my hands up. Usually, I read what I’ve written to someone else before filing, but I was home alone on that fateful day, and in a hurry.
“So when I’d finished, I just pressed send. And then, when the column appeared the next day, the land mine exploded.”
Jeremy insisted he wasn’t ‘sexist’ after Duchess of Sussex backlash
Jeremy added: “I was very angry with myself because in all those controversial days on Top Gear, when I was accused of all sorts of things, it was very rarely sexism.
“I’m just not sexist and I abhor violence against women. And yet I seemed to be advocating just that.
“I was mortified and so was everyone else. My phone went mad. Very close friends were furious. Even my own daughter took to Instagram to denounce me.”
Jeremy’s daughter Emily had hit out at her dad on Instagram. She said at the time: “I stand against everything that my dad wrote about Meghan Markle and I remain standing in support of those that are targeted with online hatred.”
Meanwhile, Jeremy concluded his statement saying he emailed Harry and Meghan on Christmas morning 2022 to apologise.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s statement on Jeremy Clarkson apology
However, after Jeremy’s apology, the Sussexes came out with a statement.
They said: “On 25 December 2022, Mr. Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.”
It continued, saying: “While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his longstanding pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny.
“Unless each of his other pieces were also written ‘in a hurry’, as he states, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate.”
Fallout from the Jeremy and Meghan scandal
In February 2023, press regulator Ipso had launched an investigation into Jeremy’s comments.
The watchdog received more than 25,000 complaints about the article.
Then in June of that year, Ipso confirmed it had upheld the complaint. It concluded that the article was “sexist” and contained a “pejorative and prejudicial reference” to Meghan’s sex.
However, Ipso rejected complaints that the article was inaccurate, meant to harass her or included discriminatory references on the grounds of race.
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