What has Jeremy Clarkson said about Meghan Markle in The Sun and elsewhere?

There is no hidden knowledge that Meghan Markle, the controversial former Duchess of Sussex, continues to be blamed and criticized for her separation from the British royal family. While everyone is aware of the royalist British TV show host Piers Morgan’s impulsive exit from Good Morning Britain over a heated argument about Markle’s misdeeds, there are others who have trespassed the boundaries in exhibiting their personalized hatred for her.

One such infamous figure is the British broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson, whose recent disparaging remarks on Markle have been met with severe backlash and outrage. In one of his columns for The Sun, Clarkson expressed his disdain for Markle and mentioned that he despised her “not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West but on a “cellular level.” Let’s shine some light on the details of this hatred.

What did Clarkson write about Markle and how was it received?

Just when you expected the comments to end, the former Top Gear presenter drew inspiration from a highly traumatic episode of Game of Thrones to continue penning his thoughts. He said:

“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. Everyone who’s my age thinks the same way. But what makes me despair is that younger people, especially girls, think she’s pretty cool. They think she was a prisoner of Buckingham Palace, forced to talk about nothing but embroidery and kittens.”

The comments did not go unnoticed and were responded to with widespread criticisms against Clarkson. The Sun was targeted for approving the article and pleas were made to the editor of the magazine to take action against Clarkson, forcing the organization to apologize for the article’s publication and the unfortunate incident.

However, the story doesn’t end here, as the outrageous rant instigated a lot of high-profile celebrities and politicians to vocally oppose Clarkson, forcing him to apologize for his actions. Social media, especially Twitter, is filled with public outcries against Clarkson by some of the popular figures. These include the comedian Kathy Burke, London Mayor Sadiq Khan as well as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Here are a few tweets explicitly condemning Clarkson’s words.

That Jeremy Clarkson can write things like that, and publish them unashamed, tells us all we need to know about the way Rupert Murdoch has poisoned and rotted our public life.

— Philip Pullman (@PhilipPullman) December 18, 2022

Philipp Pullman vehemently spoke against Clarkson’s public humiliation of the former Duchess.

Also Jeremy Clarkson, wow that poor bastard needs so much therapy. All I can suggest is that he undertake some form of the hero’s journey and come back to the village ever changed or do civilization a favour and fuck off from public life.

— Charlotte Church (@charlottechurch) December 18, 2022

Charlotte Church didn’t mince words in implying Clarkson’s argument as uncivilized and a sign of insanity, which needs to be addressed through therapy.

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. https://t.co/TXq8XndPec

— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) December 18, 2022

Mayor Sadiq Khan stressed the need for well-known public figures to act and speak responsibly, especially given the rising violence against women.

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” pic.twitter.com/OzCt9lHG16

— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) December 18, 2022

Carol Vorderman also responded to the vitriolic attack on Markle and took to Twitter to participate in the “Shame on YOU” march against Clarkson.

Even the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stepped onto the scene to share his view on Clarkson’s use of vile language against Markle. Speaking on the subject, he said that “language matters” when asked about his reactions to the incident.

Perhaps the most active response against the episode came from the comedian Bill Bailey, who claimed that Clarkson got the “kicking he deserved.” He regarded his choice of words as “misguided” and “ill-conceived.” Responding to his part of the comment, where he says that everyone thinks the same way, he said to The Telegraph:

“You might [make a comment like Clarkson’s] in the pub as a clumsy, oafish sort of laugh. But you put it in print and not only does it take on another life but it gives gravitas to something that should never have had it. You think, ‘Come on, you’ve got to be more savvy than that, surely you can see how that’s going to pan out’, it was misguided and ill-conceived and he got the kicking he deserved.”

Reactions against Clarke also came from his daughter Emily Clarkson who openly expressed her support for those “targeted with online hatred.” On the issue, she wrote, “My views are and have always been clear when it comes to misogyny, bullying and the treatment of women by the media. I want to make it very clear that I stand against everything my dad wrote about Meghan Markle.”

What else did Clarkson say about Markle?

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

Following a deluge of harsh public responses, Clarkson took to Twitter to share his reaction to the incident. After The Sun removed the published article, it was replaced with Clarkson’s tweet, where he wrote, “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.”

Saying so, a retrospective reflection on Clarkson’s opinions of Markle would confirm his relentless battle with the former Duchess of Sussex for the past two years. After the estranged royal couple forged a 100 million pounds deal with Netflix for their then-upcoming show, Clarkson shunned and called it “drivel.” He said:

“They will be drivel. £100 million to make shows and films that inform and give hope? Kill me. I’d be much better making their programs as I don’t give a s*** about anything they give a s*** about. Just awful.”

He also dismissed Markle’s climate change pleas and sarcastically called her and Greta Thunberg “serious people” who have made matters worse. Clarkson went on to pen his share of opinions regarding Markle in his column.

In March 2021, he commented on Markle’s controversial opinions about the royal family and regarded it as “simpering victimhood” that is probably revered by the young and the stupid to bring down the British monarchy. The same year, he called Markle a “silly little cable TV actress.”

He blamed her for bringing down the royal family. He stressed that the family lived through “beheadings, affairs, and abdications” for ages. He continued his rant and regarded her as inconsequential and irrelevant enough to harm the royal family.