Jeremy Clarkson, British tabloid columnist The Sun known for years for his provocative outings, sparked heated controversy after a vitriolic column against Meghan Markle, in which he said he dreamed of seeing a crowd throwing excrement on the Duchess of Sussex.
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Meghan Markle, “I hate her. (…) At night I can’t sleep and I lie there, gritting my teeth and dreaming of the day when she will be paraded naked through the streets of all the cities of the United Kingdom, while the crowds shout “Shame!” and throw feces on him,” wrote Jeremy Clarkson in this article published on Friday.
This column was published the day after Netflix broadcast the last episodes of the Harry and Meghan documentary, in which the Sussexes notably accused the press of racism and of having wanted to “destroy” Meghan.
The columnist with an already sulphurous reputation has attracted a torrent of outraged reactions.
From the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon, many personalities strongly condemned Jeremy Clarkson’s remarks.
Even Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reacted from Latvia where he was traveling, saying that “words are important” when you are a public person.
The British press constable (Ipso) said it had received more than 12,000 complaints.
After several days of a controversy that has continued to swell, The Sun removed the column from its website on Monday afternoon, claiming to do so at the request of its author.
Jeremy Clarkson, 62, apologized on Twitter. “I made an awkward reference to (the series) Game of Thrones and it was taken badly by many people. I am horrified to have caused so much pain and will be more careful in the future,” he wrote.
In one of Game of Thrones’ most iconic sequences, a female character undergoes the “walk of shame,” during which she is forced to walk naked through the streets while people throw trash at her.
This is not the first time that Jeremy Clarkson has stood out for outrageous or provocative remarks.
In 2015, he was ousted from the BBC’s Top Gear show after physically and verbally assaulting a producer. Before that, he had already aroused many controversies with sometimes racist exits.