Meghan Markle is not a woman people want to mess with because she will bite back, and she will do it very publicly.
This week, Prince Harry and his wife put out a blistering statement slamming The Sun and controversial TV host Jeremy Clarkson, who recently penned a hateful column in the media outlet.
Clarkson’s words towards Markle were so harsh and vile that The Sun was forced to delete the piece from its website.
With over 20,000 complaints, the article became the most complained-about piece in the history of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso).
The Sun was also forced to issue a lengthy apology to Markle, which was not well received.
Giving a masterclass on how to break the Royal Family’s famous dignified silence rule, Prince Harry and Markle delivered a ruthless response.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex slammed the publication for pushing yet another PR stunt to attract headlines.
According to Markle, The Sun should have reached out directly to her with a formal apology instead of printing it.
The spokesperson went on to say that the media outlet should not get a pass and the apology should not be rapidly accepted because it put itself in that situation by accepting a person like Clarkson to publish a piece that called for disgusting acts to be committed against Markle.
Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down badly with a great many people. I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) December 19, 2022
In the statement, Prince Harry and Markle snapped at the news outlet by saying that the sad truth is that there is no hope they will change their way of doing business.
The Sussex spokeswoman said: “The fact that the Sun has not contacted the Duchess of Sussex to apologize for shows their intent.”
It went on to say: “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. A true apology would be a shift in their coverage and ethical standards for all. Unfortunately, we’re not holding our breath.”
The Sun‘s apology read: “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.”
It went on to state: “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 the future. Columnists’ opinions are their own, but as a publisher, we realize that with free expression comes responsibility. We at The Sun regret the publication of this article, and we are sincerely sorry.”
In his disturbing column, Clarkson said that he often fantasized about Markle walking naked in England while people threw feces at her.
He also said that he hated Markle. Clarkson did issue a half-apology where he said in part, “oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it.”
More than 65 MPs, led by Caroline Nokes, the Tory chair of the women and equalities select committee, penned a heavily worded letter to The Sun condemning the cruelty displayed towards Markle.
The letter said in part: “We condemn in the strongest terms the violent, misogynistic language against the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.”
Markle’s ruthless statement was applauded by some and criticized by others. Some pointed to the irony of Markle and her husband slamming people who attack them in the media when they are making millions bashing King Charles III, Prince William, and Kate Middleton.
Despite the interviews, the Netflix series, and the upcoming book, the royals have remained true to the late Queen Elizabeth II‘s motto of retaining a dignified silence in the face of scandals and public shaming.
