By Sheila Mckenzie-
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have rejected an apology from Jeremy Clarkson failed to address his “long-standing pattern” of writing articles that spread “hate rhetoric” when apologising to Meghan for his Sun column, the Sussexes have claimed.
The TV presenter on Monday evening apologised to Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, over a “disgraceful” piece he wrote about the Meghan Markle in December last year. The who wants to be a millionaire television presenter was reacting to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries in which the couple make several allegations against the royal family.
The docuseries have sparked mixed reactions from the public, with many people accusing Harry and Meghan of selling out his family for money and being hypocritical about their claim to want privacy. Some analysts say the docuseries as well as Prince Harry’s all tell book is an expression of anger and revenge for what the Sussexes-particularly Harry- sees as his family’s complicity in sustained negative publicity bout them.
In his column, published in December, the television presenter said 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”.
The remarks sparked a huge backlash, with Clarkson’s daughter Emily, as well as many others, speaking out against the ill conceived. The column was viewed by many as an attempt by the television presenter and the paper to incite a public attack against Meghan Markle.
Meghan Markle has in the past been subjected to explicit racial abuse on social media by royalists who are angry with her and perceive her to be the main trouble shooter and cause of the fall out between Prince Harry and his family. Meghan’s critics, of which she has many, generally believe that she deliberately targeted Prince Harry as a future partner, and knew what she was doing.
Her supporters insist she and her husband are simply telling their story, having being ill treated by the royal institution, and their freedom to spill all the beans simply hurts those who don’t like the sound of it. Clarkson did not hold back in expressing his anger and disgust for the couple, but targeted Meghan specifically falling short of acceptable standards in an attempt to express his strong disapproval
Clarkson earlier revealed he had emailed the couple to apologise over his piece in The Sun, in which he said he “hated” Meghan.
Rejection
A spokesperson for the Sussexes said the couple rejected his latest apology, published on Instagram on Monday, and did not believe the article was a careless, isolated incident.
The statement 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.”
Clarkson’s column became the most complained about ever article in the press watchdog-Ipso’s history, and was removed from The Sun’s website at his request, with the publisher also apologising. It is not clear how long it remained on the website after complaints before it was pulled down, or why The Sun needed to wait for a request from Clarkson before they pulled it down.
Harry and Meghan previously rejected the paper’s apology as “nothing more than a PR stunt”.
Clarkson is already set to lose his shows on Amazon Prime Video – The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm, over the controversy
The Duke and Duchess Of Sussex said Mr Clarkson “wrote solely” to Prince Harry, who was not the subject of his piece. They also rejected his claims to have written the column “in a hurry”.
In the article, the former Top Gear host said he despised the duchess on a “cellular level”, adding that he dreamt of the day she would be made to parade naked through Britain while a crowd chanted “shame” and threw “excrement” at her.
Mr Clarkson, in his apology, said: “I really am sorry. All the way from the balls of my feet to the follicles on my head. This is me putting my hands up. It’s a mea culpa with bells on.”
His comments came after the release of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary, in which they talked about their split from the Royal Family and their relationship with the monarchy.
In his latest statement, he expanded on his apology and denied being sexist or misogynistic.
Clarkson wrote: “It was a slow rumble to start with, and I ignored it. But then the rumble got louder. So I picked up a copy of The Sun to see what all the fuss was about.
“We’ve all been there, I guess. In that precise moment when we suddenly realise we’ve completely messed up. You are sweaty and cold at the same time. And your head pounds. And you feel sick. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Had I really said that? It was horrible.
“I knew what had happened straight away. I’d been thinking of a scene in Games Of Thrones, but I’d forgotten to mention this. So it looked like I was actually calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan’s head. 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.
“We never did ‘women can’t park’ gags for instance. Or suggested that powerful cars were only for men. And I was thrilled when Jodie Kidd and Ellen MacArthur set fastest-ever laps in our reasonably-priced car. 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 Clarkson has reportedly been axed from Amazon Prime (Image: PA)
Over 600 Mps wrote to The Sun Newspaper editor, Victoria Newton, asking for action to be taken against Jeremy Clarkson, though there has been no formal announcement as to their stance on the matter.
The Sun officially apologised for publishing the article stating that they now realise that with freedom of speech comes responsibility.
The Sun has been contacted for comment with respect to whether they plan to take any action against Jeremy Clarkson or whether the apology they and Clarkson released addresses the matter completely as far as they are concerned.