Jeremy Clarkson to be 'dropped' by Amazon after Meghan Markle column

The streaming giant is said to no longer be working with the TV presenter beyond the two seasons of “The Grand Tour” and “Clarkson’s Farm” that have already been commissioned, sources told Variety.

It is expected that Clarkson will not appear in any new shows for Prime Video beyond 2024 or early 2025 following the backlash.

The news follows a lengthy statement from the former Top Gear presenter on his official Instagram account on Monday. 

Jeremy Clarkson apologised to Meghan Markle on Christmas Day (PA) (Image: PA)

Amazon to 'drop' Jeremy Clarkson after Meghan Markle comments

The social media post addressed his now-removed column and that he had emailed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Christmas Day to say his language in the column had been “disgraceful” and he was “profoundly sorry”.

In the statement, the 62-year-old wrote:"One of the strange things I’ve noticed in recent times is that whenever an MP or a well-known person is asked to apologise for something, no matter how heartfelt or profound that apology may be, it’s never enough for the people who called for it in the first place.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jeremy Clarkson (@jeremyclarkson1)

“So I’m going to try and buck the trend this morning with an apology for the things I said in a Sun column recently about Meghan Markle. I really am sorry. All the way from the balls of my feet to the follicles on my head. This is me putting my hands up. It's a mea culpa with bells on.

The broadcaster continued his statement: “It was a slow rumble to start with and I ignored it. But then the rumble got louder. So I picked up a copy of The Sun to see what all the fuss was about.

“We’ve all been there, I guess. In that precise moment when we suddenly realise we’ve completely messed up. You are sweaty and cold at the same time. And your head pounds. And you feel sick. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Had I really said that? It was horrible.

“I knew what had happened straight away. I’d been thinking of a scene in Games Of Thrones, but I’d forgotten to mention this. So it looked like I was actually calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan’s head. I was very angry with myself because in all those controversial days on Top Gear, when I was accused of all sorts of things, it was very rarely sexism.

“We never did ‘women can’t park’ gags for instance. Or suggested that powerful cars were only for men. And I was thrilled when Jodie Kidd and Ellen MacArthur set fastest-ever laps in our reasonably-priced car. I’m just not sexist and I abhor violence against women. And yet I seemed to be advocating just that.

“I was mortified and so was everyone else. My phone went mad. Very close friends were furious. Even my own daughter took to Instagram to denounce me.”

Following its publication, various celebrities and figures including Nicola Sturgeon, John Bishop, Carol Vorderman and his own daughter publicly condemned the comments. 

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson apologised to Meghan Markle on Christmas Day after column

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson closes controversial farm restaurant ahead of Amazon series return

Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) announced following its publication that the newspaper column had become it's most complained about the article.

Clarkson concluded his statement, writing: “Over the last thirty years, I have written very nearly five thousand newspaper and magazine columns, so it was inevitable that one day, I’d do a Harry Kane and sky one of the damn things. Which is what happened with the piece about Meghan.

“So can I move on now? Not sure. It’s hard to be interesting and vigilant at the same time. You never hear peals of laughter coming from a health and safety seminar. But I promise you this, I will try.

“Who knows? Very soon now I shall be a grandfather, so in future, maybe I’ll just write about that.”

Series two of Clarkson's farm will be available on Amazon Prime Video from February 10 2023.