More than 30,000 people sign petition begging for Jeremy Clarkson not to be cancelled

More than 30,000 people have signed a petition begging for Jeremy Clarkson to be uncancelled.

The former Top Gear host and Clarkson's Farm star has been in damage control after he wrote a scathing column in The Sun against Meghan Markle.

He explained how he 'dreams of the day' the Duchess of Sussex is 'made to parade naked through the streets' of Britain as people 'throw lumps of excrement at her'.

Unsurprisingly, the comments caused an almighty backlash against the 62-year-old.

While he's since posted a grovelling apology for the column, he's faced loads of calls to be kicked off television forever.

However, a counter-movement has since been sparked that is trying to ensure he doesn't get cancelled.

Erik Pendzich / Alamy Stock Photo

The Free Speech Union has kicked off a petition on Change.org trying to get as many signatures as possible.

And hoo boy, have they racked up some names.

At the time of writing, 30,106 people have signed the online campaign.

The Free Speech Union has addressed the petition to Dame Carolyn McCall, who is the CEO of ITV.

Jeremy Clarkson has hosted Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on ITV for years and it was one of the programmes that was called on to dump him following The Sun column.

The Union wrote: "While Mr Clarkson’s remarks were considered offensive by some and provoked a record number of complaints to the press regulator, the negative reaction has been completely disproportionate.

"For instance, the BBC presenter Chris Packham said he thought he should be sent to jail and the Sun closed down, while 60+ MPs wrote to you urging you to permanently ban Mr Clarkson from ever appearing on ITV again."

It added: "I hope you are not taking more seriously the complaints about Mr Clarkson because one of the complainants is a Duchess and the daughter-in-law of a King.

newsphoto / Alamy

"We note that Piers Morgan was reportedly asked by senior managers at ITV to apologise for his comments about the Duchess on Good Morning Britain in 2021 after ITV received a complaint from the Duchess.

"To apportion extra weight to a complaint because the complainant is rich and powerful – worse, to sack Jeremy Clarkson because he upset a Duchess – would be to send a message to ITV’s on-screen talent, including your news and current affairs reporters, that saying anything that annoys somebody well-connected and influential may result in them losing their jobs."

While Clarkson's future at ITV remains unclear, Prime Video has confirmed that once the presenter's contracts and the already commissioned seasons of his shows are out, his time with the streaming service will come to an end.

That doesn't mean there won't be plenty more Clarkson content in the following months as the company will release the second season of Clarkson's Farm will air on 10 February and will be followed by a third season.

Topics: Jeremy Clarkson, Celebrity

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Senior Journalist at LADbible. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign. He is in charge of the LADbible Australia editorial content and social presence.

@stewartperrie