Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, on Saturday accused The Sun of a “PR stunt” after the British tabloid apologized and said it regretted publishing a highly criticized column about the couple.
The piece, in which former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson said he “hated” Meghan, sparked a big backlash and became the UK Independent Press Standards Organisation’s (IPSO) most complained-about article.
In it, Clarkson said he dreamed of the day when Meghan “is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant ‘shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.”
Photo: AP
IPSO received more than 20,000 complaints and many high-profile figures criticized the comments, including author Philip Pullman and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The Sun, which removed the Dec. 16 article from its Web site three days later at the request of Clarkson, said in its apology that it would also be removed from its archives.
“We are sincerely sorry,” the tabloid wrote in a statement. “Columnists’ opinions are their own, but as a publisher, we realise that with free expression comes responsibility.”
However, in a biting response, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — as they are formally known — criticized it for failing to contact Meghan to apologize directly.
“The fact that The Sun has not contacted The Duchess of Sussex to apologize shows their intent. This is nothing more than a PR stunt,” the spokesperson said.
“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,” they said.
“A true apology would be a shift in their coverage and ethical standards for all. Unfortunately, we’re not holding our breath,” the spokesperson added.
The article had been written in response to the couple’s recent Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, in which they were highly critical of the UK’s tabloid media.
In his response earlier this week, Clarkson wrote on Twitter that he 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,” he added.
In one of the most famous scenes in Game of Thrones, a woman is forced to walk down the streets naked as people throw rubbish at her.
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