30 June 2023 , 21:29
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A column written by TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson - where he shared his hopes of the Duchess of Sussex being paraded naked in the street - has been ruled as sexist by the press regulator.
After over 25,000 people complained to Ipso - the Independent Press Standards Organisation - about the 'vile' article on Meghan Markle, Ipso chairman Lord Faulks said the imagery and descriptions contained in the article were 'humiliating and degrading towards the Duchess'.
In the controversial column in The Sun, Clarkson wrote that he was 'dreaming of the day when [Meghan] 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 explained that he had compared his imagery to a gruesome scene in Game of Thrones. However, he claimed that he wrote the column 'in a hurry' and forgot to mention the comparison to the popular TV show.
Jeremy Clarkson's Meghan Markle column ruled 'sexist' and 'degrading' by press regulator (GC Images)
Clarkson wrote the column about how much he 'hated' the Duchess (PA)Prince Harry and Meghan accused Clarkson of spreading 'hate rhetoric' after the column went viral, with thousands of people slamming the former Top Gear star as a 'misogynist'.
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While both Clarkson and The Sun apologised for the column in December 2022, Ipso ruled the newspaper had broken its editors' code of practice as the piece contained a 'pejorative and prejudicial reference' to Meghan's sex.
The watchdog did however reject complaints that the column was in any way discriminatory on the grounds of race, inaccurate or sought to harass the Duchess.
Elsewhere in the column, Clarkson openly admitted that he hated mother-of-two Meghan 'on a cellular level'.
He went on to compare his hatred of the Duchess with his feelings towards former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and then compared her to serial killer Rose West.
The presenter later apologised for his column (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock)The regulator found this comparison was because all three are female.
The newspaper will now have to publish a summary of the findings against it on the same page as the column usually appears, along with a notice flagging the statement on the front page of Saturday’s edition and on its website.
In a statement, the newspaper said it accepts 'that with free expression comes responsibility', adding it has a 'proud history of campaigning for women'.
Clarkson's article quickly became Ipso’s most complained-about article, receiving over 25,100 complaints in total - with his daughter, Emily Clarkson, being one of the first to speak out about her father's 'vile' words on women.
The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire presenter apologised soon after the backlash over the publication, saying he was 'horrified to have caused so much hurt' and that he would 'be more careful in future'.