Jeremy Clarkson's Sun newspaper column, in which he said he ''hated'' the Duchess of Sussex, has become the Independent Press Standards Organisation's most complained about article, with more than 17,500 complaints.
Ipso said the piece, which was removed from The Sun's website on Monday at Clarkson's request, had received more than 17,500 complaints as of 9am on Tuesday.
An Ipso spokesperson said: "We will follow our usual processes to examine the complaints we have received. This will take longer than usual because of the volume of complaints." Ipso added that the amount of complaints would be subject to change.
The number also surpassed the record number of complaints the media regulator received in 2021, which was 14,355. In the column, Clarkson also said he hates Meghan Markle more more than serial killer Rose West and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The TV presenter then went onto say that he "dreams of people throwing lumps of excrement at her" after watching Harry and Meghan's documentary on Netflix.
The Netflix show series looks into the couple's experiences of the media, racism and mental health issues, and although Jeremy said he "felt sorry" for Harry, his feelings about Meghan were very different.
Nicola Sturgeon hit back and labelled Clarkson's words as "downright awful and horrible". Sturgeon said: "I think his comments about Meghan Markle are beyond the pale you know. I'm a politician people get to say all sorts of things about me and that's part of the democratic process.
"I think everybody in modern society has to be very aware of that. I think what he said about Meghan Markle was deeply misogynistic and just downright awful and horrible.
"I have to say taking a step back from it, my overwhelming emotion about guys like Jeremy Clarkson is pity. What is it that makes somebody so distorted by hate that they end up writing these things."
Clarkson's daughter Emily also spoke out against him and said she stood with anyone 'targeted with online hatred,’
The wave of criticism led to Clarkson issuing an apology on his social media yesterday afternoon, saying he was 'horrified to have caused so much hurt' and promised that in future he would be more careful.
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