Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Call Out Broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson After His Apology

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's spokesperson responded after former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson apologized for an article about his hatred for the Duchess of Sussex.

By Lindsay Weinberg Jan 16, 2023 10:34 PMTags
Watch: Harry and Meghan Clap Back at British Broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are standing up against a British broadcaster. 

Jeremy Clarkson apologized Jan. 16 for a controversial article he wrote for The Sun in December that detailed his hate for the Duchess of Sussex "on a cellular level."

He shared in a new Instagram post that, on Christmas Day, he "e-mailed Harry and Meghan in California to apologise to them" for the article, which was reportedly taken down from the website. 

According to Jeremy, "I said I was baffled by what they had been saying on TV but that the language I'd used in my column was disgraceful and that I was profoundly sorry."

However, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan is refuting that claim, saying in a statement to E! News that his Christmas letter was only addressed to Harry.

While the spokesperson said "the contents of his correspondence were marked Private and Confidential," the rep went on to condemn the writer and article.

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"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," the Duke and Duchess' spokesperson said. "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."

Jeremy's apology letter began, "One of the strange things I've noticed in recent times is that whenever an MP or a well-known person is asked to apologise for something, no matter how heartfelt or profound that apology may be, it's never enough for the people who called for it in the first place."

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

He then went on, "So I'm going to try and buck the trend this morning with an apology for the things I said in a Sun column recently about Meghan Markle. 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."

Jeremy, 62, said he usually reads over what he has written before submitting it, but was "home alone" and "in a hurry" that day, so he "just pressed send" when he was done. 

Nick England/Getty Images

The former Top Gear host reportedly wrote that he was "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," a reference to the HBO show Game of Thrones.

Jeremy said in his apology letter that he felt "sick" over his own words, noting, "I'd been thinking of the scene in Game 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."

STEVE PARSONS/AFP via Getty Images

His column was written amid the release of Harry and Meghan's explosive Netflix documentary, which proceeded the Duke's more recent memoir Spare. According to the BBCThe Sun article received more than 6,000 official complaints.

E! News has reached out to Jeremy Clarkson and The Sun but hasn't received a comment.

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