THE UK’S PRESS watchdog has launched an investigation into the column written by Jeremy Clarkson for the Sun newspaper about Meghan Markle.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) confirmed it is taking forward two groups of complaints, from the Fawcett Society and the Wilde Foundation, which claim they were affected by breaches in accuracy, harassment and discrimination.
The article, in which 62-year-old Clarkson said he hates Markle and dreams of her being paraded through British towns and publicly shamed, became Ipso’s most complained-about article after its publication, receiving more than 25,100 complaints.
TV presenter Clarkson later apologised for the piece, describing his language as “disgraceful” and said he was “profoundly sorry”. The Sun also apologised and said it regretted the publication of the column, which was removed online.
Markle’s husband, Prince Harry, said the article was “horrific, hurtful and cruel” during an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby to discuss his autobiography Spare, adding that what Clarkson had written would encourage people around the world to believe it is an acceptable way to treat women.
The Fawcett Society is a charity that campaigns for gender equality and women’s rights, while the Wilde Foundation is a platform created to “promote, educate, empower and heal women and girls, victims and survivors of all kinds of abuse”, its website said.
Ipso confirmed the conclusion of the investigation will be made public.
Former Top Gear presenter Clarkson co-hosts Amazon Prime TV series The Grand Tour, and documentary series Clarkson’s Farm follows his efforts to run an Oxfordshire farm he bought in 2008.
The success of the series has seen visitors flock to the Diddly Squat farm shop in Chadlington, and the second series is due to launch on Friday on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories.
Clarkson also took over from Chris Tarrant as the presenter of long-running ITV gameshow Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in 2018.
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