Caroline Flack’s mother accuses Jeremy Clarkson of ‘firing up' dangerous hate with his comments about Meghan Markle
19 December 2022, 16:00
Caroline Flack's mother says Jeremy Clarkson's comments have made her feel "so upset again" after the death of her daughter.
On Saturday Jeremy Clarkson said in a newspaper column that he hated Meghan Markle 'on a cellular level'.
The piece generated a furious backlash. Discussing the matter on her show today, Shelagh Fogarty received a phone call from Caroline Flack's mother Christine.
She told Shelgah: "We shouldn't just be able to say awful things.
Christine said hate-filled remarks like those made like by Clarkson: “Fire up other people that aren’t nice… or dangerous. "They get on the bandwagon don’t they," she added.
“We all sit there and say ‘we don’t like them or we don’t like that, but you don’t write an article about it - would you?”
Television presenter Caroline died in February 2020 with a coroner later recording a verdict of suicide.
After Caroline's death, the media faced scrutiny for publishing negative pieces about her.
It was revealed by Christine after Caroline's death that the TV host had suffered from poor mental health throughout her entire career and felt the negative press added to it.
READ MORE: Caroline Flack took her own life as she felt 'it would all come down on her', coroner rules
Reflecting on Clarkson saying he had "fantasised" about the humiliation of Meghan Markle, Christine said it has "upset her so much that Jeremy Clarkson was not only allowed to think that but to put it in print".
"We don't know whether she is fragile or not," she said pointing toward the mental health state of Meghan Markle who has publically spoken about suicidal thoughts.
"My daughter was Caroline Flack and what was reported in the paper - so much of it was untrue."
She explained that recently, despite the TV star having passed, an incorrect article was published about her finances, having complained Christine said the piece was not corrected but she received an apology.
"It's all too easy just to apologise!" she exclaimed.
Recognising the status of Harry and Meghan she said: "I'm too nervous... 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!"
Shelagh weighed in: "People have told me 'it's just words, it's just words' but words really made Caroline suffer."
"Carrie [Caroline] had the most awful threats over things that were written in the paper. That picture with all her blood on the front of The Sun was let it be known that it was her boyfriend's and it wasn't, it was Carrie's!"
"And it's never been corrected", she despaired.
"They don't learn do they Shelagh? When you see some of those headlines.. people are going to be so hard up this Christmas and they are still worried about writing something awful about Meghan, I don't get it."
Shelagh described Jeremy Clarkson's comments as "cruel", "brutal" and "plain odd".
The pair discussed Flackstop Festival which Christine described as a "safe place" to discuss mental health.
The mother said the event was a rare "positive" after the loss of her daughter, but said: "That today has made me feel negative again."
READ MORE: Caller ‘fed up’ with explaining racism to white people after Clarkson 'hateful' column