Jeremy Clarkson’s daughter speaks out against Meghan Markle rant

‘I remain standing in support of those that are targeted with online hatred,’ said podcast host

Jeremy Clarkson’s daughter, the podcast host Emily Clarkson, has spoken out against her father’s recent comments about the Duchess of Sussex.

In a newspaper column this week, Clarkson wrote that he despises the duchess “on a cellular level” and dreams of people throwing “excrement” at her in the street.

He also said he hated Markle, “not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West”, but on a “cellular level”.

Clarkson’s comments, published in The Sun on Friday 16 December in response to the Harry and Meghan documentary on Netflix, were widely condemned as “vile and disgusting”.

Posting on her Instagram Stories on Sunday 18 December, Emily, 28, wrote: “My views are and have always been clear when it comes to misogyny, bullying and the treatment of women by the media.

“I want to make it very clear that I stand against everything that my dad wrote about Meghan Markle and I remain standing in support of those that are targeted with online hatred.”

Earlier this week, Emily condemned Mail Online for its coverage of the duchess, saying: “This publication, and many like it, are hellbent on DESTROYING this woman.”

Emily Clarkson distances herself from her father’s comments (Instagram)

She called the press’s treatment of Meghan “inhumane” and said that both the duchess and Prince Harry have been “treated APPALLINGLY”.

Emily, the daughter of Jeremy and his ex-wife Frances Cain, wrote: “It’s bullying on a mass scale.”

A number of prominent figures have expressed their horror at Jeremy Clarkson’s rant about Meghan, from John Bishop to Carol Vorderman.

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’.”

His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman tweeted: “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.”

The actor and comedian Kathy Burke called the former Top Gear presenter a “colossal c***” over his comments.

The second batch of episodes of the duke and duchess’s documentary arrived on Netflix on Thursday 15 December, with the couple discussing everything from arguments with Prince William to Meghan’s miscarriage.

Harry also spoke about Meghan’s struggles with mental health, amid a deluge of vitriol and abuse from the media and the public.

Read the biggest talking points here and The Independent’s review here.