‘You cannot write things like this’: John Bishop and Carol Vorderman among stars to condemn Jeremy Clarkson’s Meghan Markle rant
Several celebrities and public figures have fiercely condemned Jeremy Clarkson’s “vile” and “hateful” rant against Meghan Markle in a newspaper column.
In an op-ed for The Sun published on Friday (16 December), Clarkson wrote that he loathes the Duchess of Sussex “on a cellular level” and wants people to “throw lumps of excrement” at her.
“Everyone who’s my age thinks the same way,” Clarkson added.
Now, several prominent figures – from comedians Kathy Burke and John Bishop to Countdown star Carol Vorderman – have criticised Clarkson’s comments.
Bishop tweeted that the remarks were a “blatant appeal to incite humiliation and violence on a woman”.
He added: “Some have excused it as dark humour. There is no joke here Jeremy Clarkson, and no excuse.”
Vorderman’s Twitter comment began: “NO Jeremy Clarkson. Not on any level, in any circumstance, is it OK to write this stuff about any woman and absolutely NO to ‘everyone who’s my age thinks the same’.”
NO Jeremy Clarkson. Not on any level, in any circumstance, is it ok to write this stuff about any woman & absolutely NO to "everyone who's my age thinks the same"
No no no. We absolutely do NOT think the same.
Listen to the noise Jeremy. The crowds are chanting "shame on YOU" pic.twitter.com/OzCt9lHG16— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) December 18, 2022
English author Philip Pullman noted: “That Jeremy Clarkson can write things like that, and publish them unashamed, tells us all we need to know about the way Rupert Murdoch has poisoned and rotted our public life.”
Comedian Dom Joly said he was “literally gobsmacked” at Clarkson’s “utterly vile and disgusting comments”.
He added: “What is it about these type of men that triggers them so?”
British social activist and chief executive officer of The Five Foundation Nimco Ali wrote: “A young Black woman opens up about her struggle with suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse she got from the media and this is how some men in the media react. This is absolutely horrific.”
Burke called Clarkson a “colossal c***’ in response to his words about the Duchess of Sussex.
BBC Live presenter Rachel Burden tweeted: “So... there’s Jeremy Clarkson writing what he did. And then the editor deciding to publish it.”
Radio DJ and TV host Edith Bowman wondered “how is someone able to print such abusive comments in an actual newspaper?” in a tweet.
Harry and Meghan recently opened up about life as senior royals in the UK and their decision to step down from their duties in a six-part Netflix docuseries.
The final instalment of the show was released on Thursday (15 December).
In episode five, Harry claimed he was left “terrified” after the Prince of Wales screamed at him during a Sandringham meeting with the late Queen to discuss the Megxit crisis.
He also spoke candidly about his reaction to Meghan’’s mental health struggles, adding that he “hates” himself because he believes he “dealt with it as ‘institutional Harry’ as opposed to ‘husband Harry’”.
