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ANNOUNCEMENTS•
More than 60 UK MPs condemn TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson’s column on Meghan Markle in The Sun. Politicians call the column “violent and misogynistic” in one open letter to the editor-in-chief of the gossip magazine. “Hateful articles like Mr. Clarkson’s do not exist in a vacuum and contribute directly to an unacceptable climate of hatred and violence,” they write.
In his column, which he released last Friday, Clarkson discusses the documentary series Harry and Meghan. In it, Britain’s Prince Harry and his partner Markle look back on their years as royals and their ensuing battle with the British tabloids.
In response to the documentary, Clarkson writes, among other things, that she hates Markle “on a cellular level.” She also says that at night she “grinds her teeth” to dream of the day when she “walks naked through the streets of all the towns of Britain” while bystanders”shame!yelling at her and throwing feces at her, a reference to a scene in Game Of Thrones, an HBO television series. “Everyone my age feels that way,” Clarkson said.
An exemplary role
The column came to the TV presenter on a wave of criticism. Following its publication, Ipso, an independent UK media regulator, received a record number of over 17,500 complaints about the column. More than in all of 2021, when the regulator received around 14,000 complaints. Ipso will investigate complaints.
Clarkson’s daughter Emily was also critical. “I want to make it clear that I oppose everything my father has written about Meghan Markle. I continue to support women who are the target of hate online,” she wrote on her Instagram account on Sunday.
In their open letter, the politicians also mention Clarkson’s exemplary role. It has hosted the popular car show for many years Top Gear and is considered a leading figure in the world of British television. “We are deeply concerned about the example now being set for young men and boys, who can verbally attack a woman without consequence.”
disconnected
Politicians are also critical of The Sun for publishing Clarkson’s column. “This kind of language has no place in our country and it is unacceptable that it is mainstream newspaper ran this.” Politicians are calling on The Sun to “take action” against Clarkson and apologize to Markle.
The column has since been taken offline, at Clarkson’s own request. “I am shocked to have caused so much pain,” he wrote yesterday Chirping. “I’ll be a little more careful from now on.”
One signatory to the letter, Congresswoman Caroline Nokes, says she welcomes Clarkson’s acknowledgment, but she also criticizes the editorial process that got the piece printed in the first place.
