By Peter McLaren-Kennedy • Updated: 16 Jan 2023 • 21:43
Responding to his email apology (he should´ve picked up the phone) Harry and Meghan said that the article was just one of “a series of articles shared in hate” by Clarkson.
In his email apology, Clarkson claimed that he normally has someone proofread his column but that this time he wrote the piece in haste and hadn´t done so. But that excuse was resoundingly rejected.
A statement issued by the couple on Instagram said: “On December 25, 2022, Mr Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex. The contents of his correspondence were marked private and confidential.
“While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his long-standing 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.”
No examples were provided, however, it is not the first time that Clarkson has been accused of being insensitive or strongly biased in his views.
Clarkson said on Monday, January 16 that he had written to the couple to apologise for his remarks in what became the most complained about article in British history.
Although he did allude to the furore his article caused at the time, he did not apologise for the remarks that included how much he “hated” Meghan and that he was “dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.”
What isn´t clear is whether he was forced to issue the apology by the Sun, the ombudsman for the industry or whether he did it of his own accord.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation said on Tuesday, December 20 that the former Top Gear presenter’s article had attracted the highest number of complaints in the organisation’s history.
As of 9 am the organisation had received more than 17.500 complaints, more than 10 per cent of the annual number as readers expressed their outrage over his comments.
The organisation 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,” an IPSO spokesperson said, adding that the number of complaints would be subject to change.”
The confirmation of the growing number of complaints comes as more and more people call for Clarkson to be sacked, the latest a group of 64 MPs led by the Conservative MP Caroline Nokes. They have written an open letter to the editor of the Sun calling for Clarkson to be dealt with.
They said they condemn his column “in the strongest terms.”
Clarkson has taken to Twitter to say that he appears to have created a furore, however, he has yet to apologise for the comments made in the article. Those were found to be offensive to a very wide range of people attracting criticism from all corners of the country and from all walks of life.
Speaking on Monday, December 19 Clarkson tweeted: “I am horrified to have caused so much hurt” and “I shall be more careful in future.”
The column resulted in the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) receiving more than 6,000 complaints. In addition to his comments about how much he hated the Duchess of Sussex he said fantasised about people “throwing excrement” at Meghan Markle after watching the Sussex’s Netflix series.
He said she should be “paraded naked through the streets” and that he “dreams of people throwing lumps of excrement at her.”
Forced to break his silence over the column Clarkson tweeted: “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.”
But he has been criticised for what many describe as a pathetic apology in which he never once apologised or said he was sorry.
A spokesperson for IPSO said that the complaints are being assessed in accordance with its standard procedure and that the number was subject to change. Throughout 2021 the media watchdog only received 14,355 complaints which put into perspective the level of outrage at Clarkson’s article.
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. — Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) December 19, 2022
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.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) December 19, 2022
Widely criticised for the article, Clarkson’s own daughter even took to social media to distance herself from her father’s article saying: “I want to make it very clear that I stand against everything my dad wrote about Meghan Markle.”
Emily further condemned her father’s ‘misogyny’ as she added: “My views are and have always been clear when it comes to misogyny, bullying and the treatment of women by the media. I remain standing in support of those targeted with online hatred.”
But she was not the only one with everyone from London’s Mayor Siddiq Khan to Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying the comments were unacceptable.
But the backlash is best summed up by a Tweet from comedian John Bishop who said: “WTF is this?? I don’t care who you are or who you work for you simply cannot write things like this.
“It is a blatant appeal to incite humiliation and violence on a woman. Some have excused it as dark humour. There is no joke here @JeremyClarkson and no excuse.”
WTF is this ?? I don't care who you are or who you work for you simply can not write things like this. It is a blatant appeal to incite humiliation and violence on a woman. Some have excused it as dark humour. There is mo joke here @JeremyClarkson and no excuse. https://t.co/ewU8bnykhj — John Bishop (@JohnBishop100) December 18, 2022
WTF is this ?? I don't care who you are or who you work for you simply can not write things like this. It is a blatant appeal to incite humiliation and violence on a woman. Some have excused it as dark humour. There is mo joke here @JeremyClarkson and no excuse. https://t.co/ewU8bnykhj
— John Bishop (@JohnBishop100) December 18, 2022
It now remains to be seen what action if any both the Sun and IPSO will take after Jeremy Clarkson’s ‘I hate Meghan Markle’ article.
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Originally from South Africa, Peter is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
It seems that if you criticise a woman then you are a misogynist by default, rather than just being a man who is criticising someone who just happens to be a woman. How can it be bullying? He wrote something, he didnt push her up against a wall and threaten her or beat her up. If people choose to be celebrities and splatter their personal life all over the media then they surely should expect some negative feedback as well as positive. And really, she is truly annoying.
Well said Jessica. Countries are now passing laws saying that any crime against a woman is not just a crime, but also a ‘hate crime’. Whereas if a woman commits a crime against a man, that’s just fine. I’ll bet if Clarkson had said the same things about some other bloke he didn’t like (or someone else had suggested this happen to Clarkson), everyone would have just laughed and said ‘good idea!’. It’s colossal double standards. And why weren’t John bishop and everyone else up in arms about the Game Of Thrones scene then, when it first aired? Strangely quiet on that, weren’t they. And I’m sorry Meghan, but if you behave like a self-centred victim-claiming spoilt brat, and constantly play the race card and the ‘as a woman’ card in order to ruin other people’s lives, you deserve all the criticism you get. People need to grow up and realise that Clarkson didn’t actually mean what he said because he knows it would never happen. He was using hyperbole to make his point, something he is known for. Stop getting offended by everything, it is so tiring.
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