Jeremy Clarkson has apologised for a column he wrote in The Sun, where he said he wants Meghan Markle paraded through the streets naked with faeces thrown at her.
Clarkson came under immense fire, with many calling his views misogynistic - The Sun was also lambasted for allowing the comments to be published.
The former Top Gear host wrote he was “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”.
In a post to Twitter this morning (NZT), the former Top Gear host claimed that he was referencing a scene from the television series Game of Thrones, saying he would be more careful in the future.
"Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it," Clarkson wrote.
"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."
To some, the post seemed like a genuine apology, but many weren’t buying it, calling it "mocking".
"No - it's not an ‘oh dear’ thing. Or an ‘oops’ thing - it was vile," one commentator wrote.
"This is the most unapologetic 'apology' ever. It reads as utter sarcasm," another said.
Alongside the social media outrage, a number of UK politicians made their voices heard around the topic.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC that she has "pity" for men like Jeremy Clarkson, calling his views "deeply misogynist and just downright awful".
Another MP from Scotland, John Nicolson, wrote a letter to ITV - who currently employ Clarkson as the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
He calls for the host to be sacked and makes reference to Clarkson's latest statement.
"I note that Mr Clarkson has responded to public revulsion with a mocking tweet. It's clear repentance is not likely. So I believe there is now considerable public interest in how ITV responds," the letter reads.
"I do not believe Mr Clarkson should appear on our television screens again."
The Sun has now pulled the column from its website.
"In light of Jeremy Clarkson’s tweet, he has asked us to take last week’s column down," the page reads.
According to the BBC, the UK's press regulator received over 6000 complaints about the column.
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