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Jeremy Clarkson ‘horrified’ by backlash over Meghan article
Clarkson's Farm star Jeremy Clarkson has incurred the ire of columnist Sarah Vine in light of his recent "sexiest man" award.
Following the announcement that he beat out the likes of Hollywood stars Tom Holland and Idris Elba to the top spot Sarah has expressed her astonishment that he wasn't "cancelled" after his 2022 rant about Meghan Markle.
She described him as "the acceptable face of toxic masculinity" citing the reaction to the column as evidence. In the contentious article Jeremy had said he hated Meghan "on cellular level" and wrote he was "dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while crowds chant, 'Shame!' and throw lumps of excrement at her."
He later claimed he had been thinking of a scene in Game Of Thrones and confessed he had written to Meghan and husband Prince Harry to apologise, describing his language as “disgraceful” and said he was “profoundly sorry”. Despite this a record 25,000 people complained to the newspaper industry regulator, which ultimately ruled the imagery was "humiliating and degrading towards the Duchess". The column has since been removed from the website of the newspaper he penned it for.
Jeremy Clarkson wrote a rant about Meghan Markle in 2022 (Image: Getty)
However Sarah pointed out: "If it had been anyone else, the matter wouldn’t have ended there, as it miraculously did. People have been cancelled for far less, yet somehow Clarkson has not only survived, he’s thrived," she said.
"His Amazon Prime (sic) show, Clarkson’s Farm, is a ratings-buster. And rightly so: it’s hugely entertaining – he is hugely entertaining, warts and all," she conceded in her MailOnline column.
In the article she also recalled one of her own encounters with Jeremy explaining that he once mistook her for a waitress at a party and rudely waved his glass to demand a refill of wine, which she admitted she "meekly" gave him.
She also recounted how her daughter found him equally abrasive while she was temping a few years ago and found herself waiting on his table.
Following the publication of the offending article the regulator IPSO said it was taking forward complaints from two groups, The Fawcett Society and The Wilde Foundation.
They said they were affected by breaches of Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 3 (Harassment), and Clause 12 (Discrimination) in the column.
Jeremy Clarkson's column about Meghan Markle was investigated (Image: Getty)
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The duchess herself did not complain to IPSO or make any representations. The regulator said she was given the chance to comment, but “she indicated that she did not have any opposition to Ipso considering a complaint from the representative groups”.
They subsequently ruled that the column was sexist towards Meghan, describing some of the comments about her as “pejorative and prejudicial”.
IPSO found the article made references to the duchess’s sex, including a claim that she exercised power over the Duke of Sussex because of her sexuality. It said this was “a reference to stereotypes about women using their sexuality to exert influence” and “implied that it was the duchess’s sexuality – rather than any other attribute or accomplishment – which was the source of her power”.
The regulator also found the article’s use of comparison to Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and serial killer Rose West was because the three are female. In the article, Jeremy wrote: “I hate her (Meghan). Not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level.”
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