Duke and Duchess of Sussex dismiss The Sun's apology as 'PR stunt'

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex dismiss The Sun’s apology for Jeremy Clarkson column as a ‘PR stunt’

• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have dismissed The Sun’s apology over column 
• Jeremy Clarkson wrote he dreamed of Meghan being publicly shamed
• The publication responded after article received record-breaking complaints
• The Sussexes’ spokesperson said: ‘This is nothing more than a PR stunt’

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have dismissed The Sun’s apology over its controversial Jeremy Clarkson column as nothing more than a ‘PR stunt’.

In the column, which became IPSO’s most complained-about article, Clarkson wrote he dreamed of Meghan being paraded through British towns and publicly shamed.

Now Harry and Meghan have revealed they did not receive a personal apology, and said they do not expect the public backlash to prompt any notable change.

‘The fact that the Sun has not contacted The Duchess of Sussex to apologize shows their intent,’ their spokesperson told HuffPost.

‘This is nothing more than a PR stunt. While the public absolutely deserves the publication’s regrets for their dangerous comments, we wouldn’t be in this situation if The Sun did not continue to profit off of and exploit hate, violence and misogyny.

Referencing the iconic Walk of Shame scene in Game of Thrones, the ex-Top Gear host added that he wants to see ‘people throwing lumps of excrement’ at Meghan

The Sun and Clarkson (pictured) both separately issued apologies for the column

‘A true apology would be a shift in their coverage and ethical standards for all. Unfortunately, we’re not holding our breath.’

Clarkson’s column was published last Saturday attracted criticism from high-profile figures, politicians, and his own daughter, Emily Clarkson.

In total, IPSO said it had received more than 17,500 complaints as of 9am on Tuesday – rising to 20,800 by 5pm.

The reaction surpassed the total number of complaints the media regulator received in 2021 – 14,355.

On Friday, the newspaper said in a statement: ‘In last Saturday’s Sun, Jeremy Clarkson wrote a comment article about the Duchess of Sussex. It provoked a strong response and led to a large number of complaints to Ipso, the independent press regulator.

In spite of the backlash against Clarkson, he will remain host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? ‘at the moment’, ITV ‘s boss Kevin Lygo said earlier this week 

‘In a tweet earlier this week, Jeremy said he had made a ”clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones”, which had ”gone down badly with a great many people” and he was ”horrified to have caused so much hurt”. He also said he will be more careful in future.

‘Columnists’ opinions are their own, but as a publisher we realise that with free expression comes responsibility. We at The Sun regret the publication of this article and we are sincerely sorry.’

The newspaper added the article had also been removed from their archives as well as their website.

The statement continued: ‘The Sun has a proud history of campaigning, from Help for Heroes to Jabs Army, Who Cares Wins and over 50 years of working in partnership with charities, our campaigns have helped change Britain for the better.

Clarkson’s column was published last Saturday attracted criticism from high-profile figures, politicians, and his own daughter, Emily Clarkson

‘Working with our readers, The Sun has helped to bring about new legislation on domestic abuse, provided beds in refuges, closed harmful loopholes in the law and empowered survivors of abuse to come forward and seek help. We will continue to campaign for good causes on behalf of our readers in 2023.’

In the piece, Clarkson wrote that he despised the Duchess of Sussex ‘on a cellular level’ and expressed that he wanted to see ‘people throwing lumps of excrement at her’.     

It follows the recent broadcast of Harry and Meghan’s six-part Netflix documentary.

The first three episodes saw the couple accuse the British media of wanting to ‘destroy’ Meghan and claim ‘salacious’ stories were ‘planted’ in the press.

It follows the recent broadcast of Harry and Meghan’s six-part Netflix documentary 

In spite of the backlash against Clarkson, he will remain host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? ‘at the moment’, ITV’s boss Kevin Lygo said earlier this week. 

Speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild event in London, Mr Lygo, managing director of ITV Studios, said: ‘I would say what he writes in a newspaper column… We have no control over what he says.

‘We hire him as a consummate broadcaster of the most famous quiz on television, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

‘So it’s not quite in our wheelhouse but I don’t know what he was thinking when he wrote that. It was awful.’

When asked if ITV will keep Clarkson as host of the quiz show, a position he inherited from Chris Tarrant in 2018, Mr Lygo said: ‘Yes, at the moment we are.’

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