Jeremy Clarkson's Past Defense of Meghan Markle Comes Back to Haunt Him

Jeremy Clarkson, the British motorsport journalist and TV personality who faced condemnation in December after writing that he dreamed of the day Meghan Markle would be paraded "naked" through Britain while people threw "excrement" at her, once used the very same anecdote in her defense.

On December 16, 2022, Clarkson wrote in his weekly column for The Sun tabloid newspaper in Britain that he felt "hate" for Meghan after the broadcast of her Netflix docuseries with Prince Harry earlier that same month.

"I hate her," he wrote. "Not like I hate [First Minister of Scotland] Nicola Sturgeon or [convicted serial killer] Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level.

"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 throw lumps of excrement at her."

Coming so close to Meghan's comments in her Netflix series that hatred incited by tabloid reporting left her fearing for her life, notable voices in Britain including sixty members of Parliament—and his own daughter—condemned Clarkson's column and called for action.

The Sun removed the article from their website and Clarkson offered an apology to those he offended (but not to Meghan personally) on Twitter, saying his words were a "clumsy reference" to a scene from Game of Thrones.

The newspaper's publishers later issued their own apology, again not directed to the duchess, reading: "Columnists' opinions are their own, but as a publisher we realize that with free expression comes responsibility. We at The Sun regret the publication of this article and we are sincerely sorry."

On Monday, Clarkson published another lengthy apology, this time in part directed to Meghan, in which he revealed he had sent the royal and Prince Harry an email on Christmas day with his regrets for what he wrote.

In a statement sent to Newsweek in response to this apology, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said: "On 25 December 2022, Mr. Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. The contents of his correspondence were marked private and confidential.

"While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr. Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his longstanding pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny.

"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."

An example of Clarkson's past column writing for The Sun was provided on Tuesday by the Sussexes' biographer Omid Scobie, who took to Twitter to post an extract from a 2018 column in which the journalist again used the Game of Thrones "naked" and "shamed" reference, this time in defense of the duchess.

"Hate can do some crazy things to you," Scobie, the co-author of Finding Freedom posted to Twitter. "Back in December 2018 Jeremy Clarkson actually wrote a column defending Meghan Markle, saying "heartless" media attacks were so bad it "won't be long" before she is pilloried. Fast forward four years and he became the one calling for it."

Scobie then posted screen grabs from a December 28, 2018, column titled "Meghan Markle has gone from being a breath of fresh air for the Royals to the wicked witch."

"At this rate, it won't be long before she is stripped and forced to walk naked through the streets of York while ­people with skin diseases chant 'Shame!' and throw excrement at her," he wrote, citing the apparent negative view held of Meghan at that moment in time.

"I can't understand why this is happening. You don't know her. I don't know her."

"When all is said and done, she is just a very pretty girl who's married a former Army officer who will never, ever be king," he continued later in the same column.

"As a result, she will have less impact on your life than your postman's wife. You don't hate her. So why on earth should you hate Meghan?"

Since the publication of the journalist's December 2022 column it has been reported that his standing projects with streaming giant Amazon, including Clarkson's Farm, will likely not be renewed.

Newsweek approached The Sun and representatives of Meghan Markle for comment.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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