Reverend Al Sharpton slams Jeremy Clarksons’ racist Meghan Markle column amid police petition

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US civil rights pioneer Reverend Al Sharpton has slammed Jeremy Clarksons’ racist rant against Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in The Sun newspaper as a former judge calls on the Metropolitan Police to investigate.

In a post on Friday, Mr Clarkson wrote he had dreamed of Meghan Markle parading naked through UK cities and publicly shamed, adding that he hates her on a cellular level.

The article drew criticism from high-profile figures, MPs and his own daughter, Emily Clarkson, and has since become the most criticized article by independent press standards organizations.

The National Action Network and I join many others in condemning Mr Jeremy Clarkson’s appalling comments published this week in The Sun against the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, Reverend Sharpton said in a statement to The Independent.

We condemn these racist and dehumanizing actions in the strongest possible terms. They represent the vilest of evil angels in our society and should find no refuge in the media. We join in calls for all people of goodwill in the United States and abroad to unite in this condemnation and demand for accountability.

His comments come as Peter Herbert, a former judge and president of the Black Society of Lawyers, wrote to the Met urging them to take action against Mr Clarkson over his column, arguing it incites racial hatred and should be investigated under the Public Order Act 1986. .

Given the scale and degree of racial hate crimes targeting the Princess [sic] of Sussex, and the previous offensive conduct of Jeremy Clarkson, who is a person who knows exactly what he is saying and the likely consequences of publishing his op-ed in the Sun newspaper, there is clear evidence of intent, the letter , sent to Met Tuesday, Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said.

The letter, seen by The Independent, is co-signed by equality groups the Society of Black Lawyers, Operation Black Vote and Badung Africa, as well as activist Lee Jasper – former mayor’s adviser on race and policing, Viv Ahmun – director at Blaksox, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Labors Streatham, and Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East.

Mr Clarksons’ column read: At night I am unable to sleep as I lie here gritting my teeth and dreaming of the day when she will be forced to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowd chants, Shame! and throw pieces of excrement at him.

Mr Herbert, who is also a former chairman of the Met Police Race Hate Crime Forum, said: These words are clearly deeply offensive and for many people of color, who have a history of slavery and colonialism, images of being exhibited naked for sale and abuse is unfortunately part of our heritage.

That such abuses appear in a national newspaper and encourage aggression is an absolute disgrace and gives potential incitement to extremists in our society and elsewhere to commit acts of violence.

We know that the intended victim, Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle has received death threats and hateful abuse online in the recent past, including the regular use of the N-word.

Supporting calls for Met Police intervention, Reverend Sharpton added: We agree with the Society of Black Lawyers, Operation Black Vote and Bandung Africa that the Suns’ publication of Mr Clarkson’s rant has potential dangerous consequences in the UK, US and worldwide.

Met Police confirmed a letter had been received from Mr Herbert, along with numerous other complaints about the column.

(PA/GETTY)

A number of reports were made to the police following the publication of an article in a national daily on December 17, a spokesperson said.

The allegations have been assessed, no violations have been identified and no further action will be taken.

On Wednesday, Mr Rowley said: There is a line to be drawn. It’s not for the police to get involved, is it ethnic, is it moral, is it appropriate, is it offensive? Legal lines are usually only crossed when comments are intended or likely to incite violence.

I don’t think this is one of those cases, but of course we’ll keep a close eye on it.

Former Top Gear presenter Mr Clarkson was sued for racial discrimination by a producer of the show in 2015 – and has a habit of making racist remarks using the n-word to call Mexicans lazy, incapable, flatulent, overweight (…) .

Earlier this week, Mr Clarksons’ column became the most criticized article by the Independent Press Standards Organizations (Ipso).

Ipso said the article, which was removed from the Suns’ website on Monday at Clarksons’ request, had received more than 17,500 complaints as of 9 a.m. Tuesday, rising to 20,800 by 5 p.m. The reaction exceeded the total number of complaints the media regulator received in 2021 14,355.

Ipso is a voluntary, press-funded, non-government supported organization that adheres to UK journalistic standards. It was launched in 2014 following the Leveson inquiry, which found that the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was not working.

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