TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has apologised to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over his column in The Sun newspaper in which he said he “hated” Meghan.
In a lengthy statement posted on his verified Instagram account on Monday, The Grand Tour presenter said he emailed the couple on Christmas Day to say his language in the column had been “disgraceful” and he was “profoundly sorry”.
He said: “One of the strange things I’ve noticed in recent times is that whenever an MP or a well-known person is asked to apologise for something, no matter how heartfelt or profound that apology may be, it’s never enough for the people who called for it in the first place.
“So I’m going to try and buck the trend this morning with an apology for the things I said in a Sun column recently about Meghan Markle. I really am sorry. All the way from the balls of my feet to the follicles on my head. This is me putting my hands up. Its a mea culpa with bells on.
“Usually, I read what I’ve written to someone else before filing, but I was home alone on that fateful day, and in a hurry. So when I’d finished, I just pressed send. And then, when the column appeared the next day, the land mine exploded.”
Thousands of complaints were made to the press regulator after Clarkson wrote in December that he “hated [Meghan] on a cellular level”.
He added that he dreams of “the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.”
Clarkson's statement continued: "It was a slow rumble to start with and I ignored it. But then the rumble got louder. So I picked up a copy of The Sun to see what all the fuss was about.
"We've all been there, I guess. In that precise moment when we suddenly realise we've completely messed up. You are sweaty and cold at the same time. And your head pounds. And you feel sick. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Had I really said that? It was horrible.
"I knew what had happened straight away. I'd been thinking of a scene in Games Of Thrones, but I'd forgotten to mention this. So it looked like I was actually calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan's head. I was very angry with myself because in all those controversial days on Top Gear, when I was accused of all sorts of things, it was very rarely sexism.
"We never did 'women can't park' gags for instance. Or suggested that powerful cars were only for men. And I was thrilled when Jodie Kidd and Ellen MacArthur set fastest-ever laps in our reasonably-priced car. I'm just not sexist and I abhor violence against women. And yet I seemed to be advocating just that.
"I was mortified and so was everyone else. My phone went mad. Very close friends were furious. Even my own daughter took to Instagram to denounce me."
It comes amid reports Amazon Prime Video is parting ways with Clarkson weeks after his comments about Meghan.
Sources have reportedly told Variety the streaming service will not be working with Clarkson beyond seasons of “The Grand Tour” and “Clarkson’s Farm” that have already been commissioned.
