British television presenter Jeremy Clarkson said on Monday he was "horrified to have caused so much hurt" after a column he wrote in the Sun newspaper about Prince Harry's wife Meghan attracted more than 6,000 complaints.
In a column published on Friday, Clarkson, who gained worldwide fame as presenter of motoring show "Top Gear", wrote of Meghan: "I hate her. Not like I hate (Scottish First Minister) Nicola Sturgeon or (serial killer) Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level."
"At night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she 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."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as Harry and Meghan are officially known, stepped down from royal duties in March 2020, saying they wanted to forge new lives in the United States away from media harassment.
In a six-part Netflix documentary series which concluded last week, Meghan spoke about her treatment by the media leaving her feeling suicidal.
In a statement posted on Twitter on Monday, Clarkson said: "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," added Clarkson, who is known for being outspoken and controversial.
Britain's press standards regulator, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), said it had so far received "over 6,000 complaints about the article in question".
(This story has been corrected to fix the day of publication to Friday from Sunday in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)
