Jeremy Clarkson ‘appalled to have caused so much damage’ after backlash to scathing column about Meghan Markle

British TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson on Monday said he was “appalled to have caused so much damage” with a scathing column about Prince Harry’s wife. meghanwhich resulted in a flood of complaints.

Clarkson, who hosts The Grand Tour car show on Amazon, wrote in the tabloid The Sun that he hates Meghan Markle “on a cellular level” and dreams of taking her naked around British cities “while the crowd ‘Shame! ‘ chanted. and throw clods of feces at her.”

The media watchdog for the Independent Press Standards Organization said it had received more than 12,000 complaints about the column as of Monday – nearly the total number of complaints received in all of 2021.

The column was removed from The Sun’s website on Monday.

Clarkson, who made his name as a fierce host of BBC car show Top Gear, said the publicly shaming image was “an awkward reference” to a scene in Game of Thrones.

“Oh dear. I rather put my foot in it. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I awkwardly referred to a scene in Game of Thrones and that went badly for a lot of people,” he said tweeted On Monday. “I am appalled to have caused so much damage and I will be more careful going forward.”

Clarkson’s column followed the release of a six-part Netflix documentary about Harry and Meghan’s acrimonious split from the British royal family. The couple quit royal duties and relocated to California in 2020, citing a lack of support from the palace and the racist treatment of multiracial Meghan in the press.

Clarkson’s column was condemned by public figures, including Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who called it “deeply misogynistic and just plain awful and awful”.

Clarkson’s daughter, Emily Clarkson, wrote on Instagram, “I stand against everything my dad has written about Meghan Markle and I continue to stand up for those who are being targeted with online hate.”

When asked about the article, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that “for everyone in public life, language is important”. He added: “I absolutely do not believe Britain is a racist country.”