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ITV and Amazon are facing calls to sack Jeremy Clarkson after his column saying he dreams of Meghan Markle being ‘paraded naked through the streets’.
The 62-year-old former Top Gear presenter faced a lot of backlash for Friday’s article, in which he also said he despises the Duchess of Sussex ‘on a cellular level’ and felt ‘pity’ for Prince Harry. , which is being ‘controlled’. for his wife
And in an apparent reference to the iconic “Walk of Shame” scene in Game of Thrones, he said he wanted to see “people throwing loads of shit at him.”
The article, which also took aim at Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, has drawn criticism from high-profile figures, dozens of MPs and even her own daughter, Emily.
Jeremy Clarkson is facing calls to be fired from his role as host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? of ITV.
The 62-year-old Grand Tour presenter said he despises the Duchess of Sussex “on a cellular level” and felt “pity” for Prince Harry, who is being “controlled” by his wife.
Clarkson also hosts the Amazon Prime Grand Tour and shows his own Clarkson’s Farm on the streaming service.
The column has also become the most reported article in the Independent Press Standards Organization, with more than 17,500 complaints.
Clarkson later said that he is “appalled to have caused so much damage” and that he will “be more careful in the future”.
But now he is facing calls to be fired from his role as host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on ITV.
Clarkson also hosts Amazon’s The Grand Tour, along with Richard Hammond and James May, and has his own show Clarkson’s Farm on the streaming service.
SNP MP John Nicolson has written to ITV chief executives following the “grotesque comments”.
In the letter, shared on Twitter, Nicolson said Clarkson’s article had “crossed a line” and demanded that the broadcaster drop it.
He wrote: “After the grotesque comments that have been made about the Prime Minister and the Duchess of Sussex, I don’t think Jeremy Clarkson should return to our screens.” I have written to the CEO of ITV.
Taking to Twitter amid the backlash, Clarkson said: ‘Oh my gosh. I prefer to put my foot in it. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made an awkward reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down well with a lot of people.
“I am horrified that I have caused so much damage and I will be more careful in the future.”
Meanwhile, Ipso said the article, which was removed from The Sun’s website on Monday at Clarkson’s request, had received more than 17,500 complaints as of 9am Tuesday.
A statement said: ‘We will follow our normal processes for reviewing complaints we have received. This will take longer than usual due to the volume of complaints.’
Clarkson has been criticized for saying he dreams of Meghan Markle being ‘paraded naked through the streets’
In an apparent reference to the iconic Walk of Shame scene in Game of Thrones, the former Top Gear host added that he wants to see “people throwing loads of shit at him.”
Clarkson said: ‘I hate her. Not like she hated Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level. In the photo, she is the serial killer, Rose West.
He added that the number of complaints would be subject to change. The total also surpassed the total number of complaints the media regulator received in 2021, which was 14,355.
Carol Vorderman also said that Clarkson’s column “didn’t just cross the line, it erased it.”
The former Countdown host, who was one of the first high-profile figures to openly criticize Clarkson online, said his comments “normalized the hate”.
In his own newspaper column, written in The Daily Express on Tuesday, Vorderman said Clarkson’s comments were not acceptable “on any level”.
“After the Harry and Meghan Netflix series, I heard more than enough discussion about every little nuance.
“But Jeremy Clarkson’s opinion, that the Duchess should be paraded naked and have excrement thrown at her, not only crossed the line, it erased it.
‘Not on any level, under any circumstances, is it okay to write these things about any woman. It’s time we all scream violent hate towards any woman.
“Whatever our thoughts on the couple, and I’m not particularly interested, Clarkson’s words normalize hate.”
The column appeared a day after Harry and Meghan released the final part of their Netflix documentary series, Harry & Meghan.
The show focused on her experiences that led to her decision to step away from royal duties and start anew in the US in the six-part series on the streaming giant.
The first three episodes saw Meghan accuse the British media of wanting to “destroy” her and claim that “saltist” stories were “planted” in the press.
Rishi Sunak was questioned about Clarkson’s comments and was forced to defend Britain, insisting that it was “not a racist country”. The Prime Minister is pictured in Riga, Latvia on Monday
Clarkson later wrote: ‘I hate her. Not like I hated Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level.
“At night, I can’t sleep as I lie there, gnashing my teeth and dreaming of the day she’ll be paraded naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds shout ‘Shame!’ and throw lots of excrement at him.
‘Everyone my age thinks the same way.’
The fallout from Clarkson’s inflammatory comments prompted a response from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today.
When asked about the article, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that “language matters.”
Speaking at an event in Riga, Latvia, Sunak said: ‘I mean, what is it that makes someone so distorted by hate that they end up writing these things?
“I think it possibly gives an insight into Jeremy Clarkson and the kind of person he is.
“So maybe you just need to take a step back and think about life a little more.”
On Sunday, Clarkson’s own daughter, Emily, joined those who condemned the former journalist for his column.
Posting to her Instagram page on Sunday, she said she stands with those who are “hate targets online.”
“My views are and always have been clear when it comes to misogyny, harassment and the treatment of women by the media,” she wrote.
“I want to make it very clear that I am opposed to everything my father wrote about Meghan Markle.”