Jeremy Clarkson’s Meghan Markle column in The Sun investigated by press regulator
Press watchdog received more than 25,100 complaints about column
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Your support makes all the difference.Jeremy Clarkson’s controversial column about the Duchess of Sussex will be investigated by press regulator Ipso.
In December, Clarkson published a column in which he wrote that he hated Meghan on a “cellular level”.
Following a huge backlash, Clarkson apologised and later said that he had reached out to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over the article. However, Harry and Meghan issued their own statement claiming that Clarkson had only apologised to Harry.
On Thursday, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) announced that it had launched an investigation into Clarkson’s article after receiving more than 25,100 complaints. It is Ipso’s most complained-about article ever.
The press watchdog said that they were taking forward two complaints by The Fawcett Society and The Wilde Foundation.
The complaints claimed that Clarkson’s article breached Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 3 (Harassment) and Clause 12 (Discrimination) of the Ipso code.
In the article, Clarkson wrote that he dreamt of the day Meghan would be made to parade naked through Britain while crowds chanted “shame” and threw “excrement” at her.
The newspaper article was widely condemned by several celebrities and public figures, including Carol Vorderman, John Bishop, and the broadcaster’s own daughter Emily Clarkson.
When he later apologised for the piece, The Grand Tour host explained that the image of the duchess being humiliated was in reference to a scene from Game of Thrones.
Still, he described his language as “disgraceful” and said he was “profoundly sorry”. The Sun also apologised and said it regretted the publication of the column, which was removed online.
In an interview with ITV around the release of his memoir Spare, Harry branded it “horrific, hurtful and cruel”, claiming that Clarkson’s words would encourage people around the world to believe it is an acceptable way to treat women.
Ipso confirmed the conclusion of the investigation will be made public.