Yahoo News Jeremy Clarkson’s Meghan Markle Column Censured By UK Regulator For “Prejudicial Reference To Duchess Of Sussex’s Sex”
The controversial Jeremy Clarkson Sun column last year slamming Meghan Markle has been censured for “a pejorative and prejudicial reference to the Duchess of Sussex’s sex,” but escaped punishment for harassing her or being prejudicial on grounds of race.
UK newspaper regulator IPSO has immediately ordered Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspaper to publish a summary of the findings on the same page as the column appears along with the front page and on its website.
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IPSO ruled that the former Top Gear host’s column, titled “One day, Harold the glove puppet will tell the truth about A Woman Talking B*****ks,” contained a “pejorative and prejudicial reference to the Duchess’ sex.”
The column, which was published in December 2022, said Markle should be “made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!” and throw lumps of excrement at her” — a reference to a famous walk of atonement scene involving Queen Cersei (Lena Headey) in Season 5 of Game of Thrones.
It caused immense fallout, with Amazon’s Prime Video likely dropping the Clarkson’s Farm host in the future and ITV, which airs the Clarkson-hosted Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, facing tricky questions. ITV boss Carolyn McCall previously said there is “no place” for the comments on her channel and question marks remain over whether his Who Wants to be a Millionaire? contract will be renewed.
“This was a serious breach of the Editors’ Code of Practice,” said IPSO Chair Lord Faulks. “We found that the imagery employed by the columnist in this article was humiliating and degrading toward the Duchess.”
Elaborating on the decision, IPSO said there were a number of references including “that the Duchess exercised power via her sexual hold over her husband,” along with comparisons to former Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon and convicted serial killer Rose West.
“The only clear common characteristic between the three was their sex and the writer’s ‘hate’,” added the ruling. “It highlighted her position as a specifically female negative role model by referring to the Duchess’s influence on ‘younger people, especially girls.'”
IPSO, however, did not uphold separate elements of the thousands of complaints about the column that it was inaccurate, harassed Markle or included discriminatory references to her on the grounds of race.
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