Jeremy Clarkson has broken his silence regarding his comments about ‘hating’ Meghan Markle.
The Grand Tour presenter had said in his column in The Sun newspaper he ‘hated [Meghan] on a cellular level’ and that he ‘dreamed’ of her being paraded naked around Britain while excrement was thrown at her.
After being widely condemned for his comments, including by his daughter Emily, Clarkson has attempted to clarify his remarks on Twitter but stopped short of apologising to Markle.
The former Top Gear host wrote: “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.”
Read more: Clarkson’s Meghan comments sparks backlash
Clarkson added: “I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future.”
The reference in question is a scene from season five of Game of Thrones where Cersei Lannister is forced to make a walk of atonement through King’s Landing while naked after confessing to adultery.
Read more: Jeremy Clarkson’s daughter condemns dad’s ‘misogynistic bullying’ of Meghan Markle
His comments were swiftly criticised by many including his daughter Emily, who also works as a journalist.
She wrote on Instagram: “I want to make it very clear that I stand against everything my dad wrote about Meghan Markle.”
Elsewhere in his column, Clarkson also expressed his “hatred” for Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Sturgeon responded in an interview with BBC Scotland, saying: “The overwhelming emotion I have for men like Jeremy Clarkson is pity. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be so consumed and distorted by hate of other people, and in his case it appears women in particular, that you end up writing that toxic, vile abuse.”
As well as fronting The Grand Tour with Richard Hammond and James May, Clarkson also hosts Who Wants to be a Millionaire for ITV.
Watch below: Chris Tarrant doesn’t watch Jeremy Clarkson’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire
