Jeremy Clarkson apology: did he say sorry to Meghan Markle and Harry for The Sun column - full Instagram post

The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire presenter told his Instagram followers that he emailed the Duke and Dutchess of Sussex on Christmas morning to apologise for his Sun column
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Jeremy Clarkson has said that he personally emailed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to apologise for his controversial column in The Sun newspaper. The TV presenter caused outrage last month after he wrote an opinion piece in which he detailed the level of “hatred” he has for the Duchess of Sussex, shortly following the debut of the Netflix documentary series Harry & meghan.

In the column, Clarkson said: “I hate her [Meghan Markle]. Not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level.

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“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 thrown lumps of excrement at her.”

Now Clarkson, 62, has made a full statemnent aboiut the situation. He told his Instagram followers that he personally emailed the Duke and Dichess of Sessex on Christmas morning to apologise for the article.

His column was deleted from The Sun website amid the outrage, and the newspaper issued an apology for publishing the piece. Prince Harry spoke about the situation during his sit-down interview with Tom Bradby on ITV, saying: “When we’re talking about accountability, you know, just recently, which I know you know about, the Jeremy Clarkson article, so not only did, what he said was horrific and is hurtful and cruel towards my wife, but it also encourages other people around the UK and around the world, men particularly, to go and think that it’s acceptable to treat women that way.”

What did Jeremy Clarkson say about his Sun Column on Instagram?

The Grand Tour Presenter spoke about the situation with his 5.2million Instagram followers. In the statement, he said: “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.

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“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. Its a mea culpa with bells on.

Jeremy Clarkson has said that he emailed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to apologise for a column in The Sun in which he detailed how much he “hated” Meghan Markle. (Credit: Getty Images)Jeremy Clarkson has said that he emailed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to apologise for a column in The Sun in which he detailed how much he “hated” Meghan Markle. (Credit: Getty Images)
Jeremy Clarkson has said that he emailed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to apologise for a column in The Sun in which he detailed how much he “hated” Meghan Markle. (Credit: Getty Images)

Clarkson added that he did not read the column to another person before filing with The Sun, a step he would normally take before sending a final draft off. He also described the reaction on the day of publication as a “land mine” exploding.

He continued: “It was a slow rumble to start with and I ignored it. But then the rumble got louder. So I picked up a copy of The Sun to see what all the fuss was about.

“We’ve all been there, I guess. In that precise moment when we suddenly realise we’ve completely messed up. You are sweaty and cold at the same time. And your head pounds. And you feel sick. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Had I really said that? It was horrible.

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The Grand Tour presenter said that his description of “dreaming” of Markle being paraded naked through the streets and excrement thrown at her was a reference to a Game Of Thrones scene in which a female character also goes through the same situation. He told his followers that he had “forgotten to mention” the link, and admitted that without this context “it looked like I was actually calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan’s head.”

Clarkson also address the backlash his employers, including ITV and Amazon, had recieved as a result of the column. Clarkson presenters Who Wants To Be A Millionair? for ITV and also had starred in Amazon Prime television shows such as The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm.

He said: “The Sun quickly apologised and I tried to explain myself. But still, there were calls for me to be sacked and charged with a hate crime.

“More than 60 MPs demanded action to be taken. ITV, who make Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and Amazon, who make the Farm Show and the Grand Tour, were incandescent. I therefore wrote to everyone who works with me saying how sorry I was and then on Christmas morning, I e-mailed Harry and Meghan in California to apologise to them too.

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“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.”

The presenter then referenced England captain Harry Kane’s World Cup penalty miss, saying: “Over the last thirty years, I have written very nearly five thousand newspaper and magazine columns, so it was inevitable that one day, I’d do a Harry Kane and sky one of the damn things. Which is what happened with the piece about Meghan.

“So can I move on now? Not sure. It’s hard to be interesting and vigilant at the same time. You never hear peals of laughter coming from a health and safety seminar. But I promise you this, I will try.

“Who knows? Very soon now I shall be a grandfather, so in future, maybe I’ll just write about that.”

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