Jeremy Clarkson has issued a statement following his inflammatory comments about Meghan Markle in a column for tabloid The Sun.
On Monday, the “Clarkson’s Farm” presenter shared a statement on social media, saying he is “horrified to have caused so much hurt.”
“Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it,” Clarkson tweeted. “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.”
In Clarkson’s Dec. 16 column, titled “One day, Harold the glove puppet will tell the truth about A Woman Talking B*ks,” the former “Top Gear” presenter wrote of Markle: “I hate her. Not like I hate [Scottish National Party leader] Nicola Sturgeon or [British serial killer] Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level.”
He continued, referencing an infamous “Game of Thrones” scene involving Lena Headey’s Cersei: “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.”
In the column, which Clarkson writes weekly for The Sun, he suggests that Prince Harry has no “control” over his actions anymore, largely thanks to Markle. He also goes on to wring his hands over the fate of the royal family, which he seems to believe will be gravely damaged by Markle and Prince Harry’s accusations in the six-hour doc series, which concluded on Dec. 15.
On Sunday, Clarkson’s daughter Emily Clarkson, an author and podcast host, made clear on her official Instagram stories that she did not agree with her father’s comments.
“My views are and have always been clear when it comes to misogyny, bullying and the treatment of women by the media,” wrote Emily Clarkson. “I want to make it very clear that 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.”
Emily Clarkson had previously posted about the Mail online being “hellbent” on “destroying” Markle.
Clarkson’s primary partner, Amazon Prime Video, has yet to speak out on its star presenter’s behaviour — and it’s unlikely to do so. A source tells PvNew that Amazon Prime Video won’t be commenting nor making a statement about Clarkson’s comments.
It was Prime Video that swooped for “Top Gear” in 2015 after the BBC cut ties with Clarkson after the host punched one of the show’s producers. The parting of ways came at a great cost to the broadcaster, for which “Top Gear” was worth more than £50 million per year, and brought in a massive global audience.
Prime Video spun off “Top Gear” as “The Grand Tour,” which is now in its fifth season, and has continued to give Clarkson a number of commissions, including “Clarkson’s Farm,” which will be back for Season 2 in February.
Although Amazon is staying mum on Clarkson, his comments received extensive backlash from various public figures. “His Dark Materials” writer Phillip Pullman condemned the column as well as media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, whose News Group Newspapers owns The Sun.
“In himself, Jeremy Clarkson is nothing: a brief loud noise and a brief bad smell. The arse that emitted him, as I said yesterday, is Rupert Murdoch,” said Pullman on Monday.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said of the comments: “As Jeremy Clarkson should well know – words have consequences. The words in his piece are no joke — they’re dangerous and inexcusable. We are in an epidemic of violence against women and girls and men with powerful voices must do better than this.”
Meanwhile, TV presenter Carol Vorderman wrote: “NO Jeremy Clarkson. Not on any level, in any circumstance, is it ok to write this stuff about any woman & absolutely NO to ‘everyone who’s my age thinks the same’ No no no. We absolutely do NOT think the same. Listen to the noise Jeremy. The crowds are chanting ‘shame on YOU.’”
