Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reject The Sun’s apology over vile Jeremy Clarkson rant

Dec 26 2022
Written by Asyia Iftikhar

Jeremy Clarkson (L) and Meghan Markle (R). (Getty)

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have called The Sun‘s apology over Jeremy Clarkson’s misogynistic column “nothing more than a PR stunt”.

The apology refers to Clarkson’s column in which he fantasised about Meghan being “made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.”

The newspaper column, which has since been taken down at Clarkson’s request, received the most IPSO complaints ever at more than 17,000 and prompted an apology from the publisher.

“Columnists’ opinions are their own, but as a publisher we realise that with free expression comes responsibility. We at The Sun regret the publication of this article and we are sincerely sorry,” The Sun wrote.

They also referred to Clarkson’s own statement earlier last week in which he stated he had “put his foot in it” and tried to defend his words as a “clumsy Game of Thrones reference”.

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

However, Harry and Meghan have not accepted the apology with their spokesperson saying: “This is nothing more than a PR stunt.

“While the public absolutely deserves the publication’s regrets for their dangerous comments, we wouldn’t be in this situation if The Sun did not continue to profit off of and exploit hate, violence and misogyny

“A true apology would be a shift in their coverage and ethical standards for all. Unfortunately, we’re not holding our breath.”

The backlash has spanned across the political and culture world, with Clarkson’s own daughter saying she “stands against everything my dad wrote”.

The mother of former TV presenter Caroline Flack who took her own life in part due to negative press also took to the record to condemn Jeremy Clarkson’s words.

“If you’re going to write something about someone, let it be nice, otherwise, just leave it alone and have your own opinions in private,” she told LBC.

Meanwhile, more than 65 cross parliamentary MPs wrote to The Sun‘s editor, Victoria Newton, echoing Harry and Meghan’s calls for meaningful change so this never happens again.

Since the apology has not been accepted time will tell if The Sun will take any further action to address the concerns raised.