IPSO Upholds Complaint About Jeremy Clarkson's Column on Meghan Markle in 'Landmark Decision'

The update comes six months after 'The Sun' pulled the column from its website and archives

The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) has upheld a complaint about sexism surrounding Jeremy Clarkson’s offensive article about Meghan Markle in a historic first.

The independent U.K. press regular shared the news in a statement on Friday six months after the Top Gear host was widely criticized after penning an article for The Sun about his "hate" for the Duchess of Sussex, 41, “on a cellular level.” The December 2022 column was soon removed from the outlet’s website and archives. Both The Sun and Clarkson issued apologies, with the paper saying it was "sincerely sorry."

IPSO received over 25,000 complaints about the piece, which the BBC reports was an all-time high. Two of the grievances from the Fawcett Society (a gender equality and women’s rights charity) and the WILDE Foundation (a group dedicated to helping victims of abuse) were investigated. The organizations learned of the review in February, and the press regulator shared the findings in April, a statement said. The Sun requested a review of the IPSO decision in May, and the outcome of the evaluation was shared with Fawcett on June 14. Fast-forward to Friday and the media watchdog announced it was upholding the Fawcett Society and WILDE Foundation’s complaints on the basis of sexism.

RELATED: 'Top Gear' Host Jeremy Clarkson Condemned for 'Deeply Misogynist' Comments About Meghan Markle

"The Fawcett Society and WILDE Foundation have made history with our complaints against The Sun for its publication of Jeremy Clarkson’s vile and offensive column about the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. All women are harmed if any woman is the target of sexist reporting and media misogyny is not acceptable,” Jemima Olchawski, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society, said in a statement. "Since it was established in 2014 IPSO has never upheld a complaint about sexism – and that changes today. This landmark decision is a real opportunity for our media to catch up with what women have known for years – misogyny and hate are not acceptable and they can no longer be dressed up as satire or banter.”

Harriet Harman, incoming Chair of the Fawcett Society, stressed similar sentiments.

“Women are no longer prepared to endure the sexism that generations of women have been subjected to. Fawcett will be vigilant about sexism in the media and challenge it wherever it appears. This is a big step forward for women in the battle against sexism in the media,” Harman said.

Clarkson's article came amid the release of Meghan and Prince Harry's Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, in which the couple spoke about their struggles with press intrusion and social media threats.

RELATED: Jeremy Clarkson's 'Deeply Misogynist' Article About Meghan Markle Is Taken Down with Apology

"I think for people to really understand, you know, when you plant a seed that is so hateful, what it can grow into," the Duchess of Sussex said in an emotional moment of the show.

"Just a couple of days ago, I was going through the manual for our security team at home, and on one of the pages that I happened to flip to, it was about online monitoring," she continued. "And they're like: 'If you see a tweet like this, please report it to the head of security immediately.' And it just said: 'Meghan just needs to die. Someone needs to kill her. Maybe it should be me.' "

"And I was just like, 'Okay.' That's, like, what's actually out in the world because of people creating hate," Meghan said.

In January, Clarkson, 63, claimed he issued an apology to Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan on Christmas Day, though a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said he only reached out to Harry.

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In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the spokesperson said, "On December 25, 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 long standing pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories, and misogyny," it continued. "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."

The Sussexes' response to Clarkson's claims came nearly a week after the global release of Harry's memoir Spare. While discussing the book during an interview with Tom Bradby on ITV, the prince explained how comments like Clarkson's can incite dangerous repercussions.

"When we're talking about accountability, you know, just recently, which I know you know about, um you know, the Jeremy Clarkson article," the Duke of Sussex said. "So not only did, what he said was horrific and is hurtful and cruel towards my wife, but it also encourages other people around the U.K. and around the world, men particularly, to go and think that it's acceptable to treat women that way."

"You know, to use my stepmother's words recently as well, there is a global pandemic of violent – violence against women," Harry added, referencing Queen Camilla's then-recent speech at Buckingham Palace reception to raise awareness of violence against women and girls.

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