LBC listeners are in tears after Caroline Flack’s mum condemns Jeremy Clarkson’s ‘awful’ Meghan Markle comments
Caroline Flack’s mum Christine Flack has condemned Jeremy Clarkson for his hateful column about Meghan Markle
Caroline Flack’s mother, Christine, has blasted Jeremy Clarkson for his violent tirade against Meghan Markle in his recent column for The Sun.
Christine Flack called into Shelagh Fogarty’s LBC show, saying the media has not learnt its lesson since Caroline took her life in February 2020 and that the former Top Gear presenter’s comments have made her “so upset again”.
Clarkson came under fire for writing that he fantasises about “the day when [Markle] is made to parade naked through the streets” while people “throw excrement at her”.
He also compared her to serial killer Rose West, and emphasised he despised her on a “cellular level”, among other deeply hateful statements.
The column was written in response to the hit Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan in which Markle opens up about the mental health struggles she faced due to relentless harassment from the media.
Speaking to Fogarty, Christine Flack expressed how upset she was that the article had made it to publication, and compared it to the negative press coverage received by her daughter, whose tragic death re-centred the #BeKind campaign and sparked a national conversation about misogynistic language against women and girls.
“My daughter was Caroline Flack, and what was printed in the papers, so much of it was untrue,” Christine said.
“Why write something so bad?” she asked Fogarty.
“We thought when Carry [Caroline] died this thing about being kind, it isn’t a joke, it is a real thing.
“If you’re going to write something about someone, let it be nice, otherwise, just leave it alone and have your own opinions in private.”
“They don’t learn, do they Shelagh?” Christine continued, “All the terrible things that are happening in the world and people are going to be so hard up this Christmas and they’re still worrying about writing something awful about Meghan. I don’t get it.
“I can see even though Meghan and Harry have got all that money… even they said, if they can’t win, how can anyone else win? Someone like Jeremy Clarkson can just say what he wants, but it gets printed, that’s the worst thing!”
Clarkson has since tweeted saying it was a “clumsy” Game of Thrones reference.
“I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future,” he wrote in a tweet that has now replaced the column.
However, Christine said it was “all too easy just to apologise”, adding that the editor of The Sun, Victoria Newton, “hasn’t changed a thing”.
Her views are echoed by almost 70 cross parliamentary MPs who have called for change.
In an open letter to Newton, MP Caroline Nokes wrote: “We cannot allow this behaviour to go unchecked any longer”.
The MPs called for decisive action to be taken against Jeremy Clarkson, an apology to be given to Meghan Markle and for the same mistakes to not be repeated again.
As put by Christine: “We shouldn’t just be able to say awful things” that “fire up other people that aren’t nice… or dangerous. They get on the bandwagon don’t they.”
People across the country have shared the impact of Christine’s testimony, with many listeners of the radio show being brought to tears by her powerful words.
“I did not expect to be in tears tonight, but hearing Caroline Flack’s mum Christine call Shelagh Fogarty on LBC & talk about how worried she is about the coverage of Meghan given what happened to her own daughter did it,” one person wrote.
Another added: “Her [Christine’s] despair, grief and shock that The Sun was continuing to operate in this way was unbearable to hear. Super glad it’s blown up & people are listening to her.”
Christine joins a raft of high profile figures who have condemned the column, including Nicola Sturgeon, Carol Vorderman and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Clarkson’s column has since become the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s most complained about article ever, having received more than 17,500 complaints as of 9am on Tuesday 19 December.
Suicide is preventable. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact Samaritans on 116 123 (www.samaritans.org), or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (www.mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
