The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have dismissed the Sun’s apology over Jeremy Clarkson’s controversial column as insincere and nothing more than a public relations stunt.
The column, in which Clarkson claimed to hate the Duchess “on a cellular level,” generated over 20,000 complaints and became the most complained-about article according to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso).
In response, a spokesperson for the royal couple accused the Sun of profiting from and promoting “hate, violence, and misogyny,” and called for a change in the newspaper’s coverage and ethical standards. The spokesperson also described Clarkson’s comments as “dangerous” and pointed out that the Sun had not even contacted the Duchess to apologize.
On Friday, the Sun issued a statement expressing regret for publishing the column and offering a “sincere” apology.
However, the newspaper also emphasized that columnists’ opinions are their own and that, as a publisher, it believes in the principle of free expression with accompanying responsibility.
The Sun’s website now features a tweet from Clarkson in which he admits to causing hurt and promises to be more mindful in the future, replacing the original column.
Clarkson’s daughter, Emily, publicly dissociated herself from her father’s views on the Duchess, and the comments were widely condemned on social media. Kevin Lygo, the head of media and entertainment at ITV, described the comments as “awful,” but stated that there were no plans to replace Clarkson as host of the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
The column was published shortly after the release of the Duke and Duchess’s six-part Netflix series, in which they discussed their relationship with the UK media. In the column, Clarkson also compared his hatred of the Duchess to his feelings towards Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and serial killer Rose West.
In response, Sturgeon called Clarkson’s comments about the Duchess “deeply misogynist and just downright awful.”
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