The event — which was scheduled before the presenter’s column about Meghan Markle was published in British tabloid The Sun in December — had still been on the cards in recent weeks, despite the ensuing controversy. However, it was canceled at 6 p.m. U.K. time on Monday , hours after Clarkson posted a fresh apology on Instagram, and Variety reported that Prime Video was set to part ways with the controversial figure.

“On Dec. 25, 2022, Mr. Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. The contents of his correspondence were marked Private and Confidential. While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr. Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his long-standing pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories, and misogyny,” the statement reads. “Unless each of his other pieces were also written ‘in a hurry,’ as he states, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate.”

Sources tell Variety that the streaming service won’t be working with Clarkson beyond seasons of “The Grand Tour” and “Clarkson’s Farm” that have already been commissioned. This means that the notorious “Top Gear” presenter likely won’t be appearing in any new shows on Prime Video beyond 2024 (though there’s every chance a final “Grand Tour” episode could carry over into 2025).

Prime Video already has a number of shows in the works with Clarkson, which are going to go ahead, but the decision effectively means that “Clarkson’s Farm” will end with Season 3 (expected in 2024). It also means that motoring format “The Grand Tour,” one of Prime Video’s biggest shows, will also come to an end. Variety understands the series will conclude after four more special episodes — the last of which is expected to land in late 2024. Although the streamer didn’t make any public comment when Clarkson’s vitriolic column made international headlines in December, it’s clear the company was deeply unhappy behind the scenes. In a fresh apology made by Clarkson on Monday, he says the streamer was “incandescent” about his tirade against Markle and Prince Harry.

The extensive apology for his December comments — in which Clarkson suggested Markle be made to “parade naked” through Britain while people “throw lumps of excrement at her” — comes a day ahead of a planned press conference for “Clarkson’s Farm.” (The promotional event for Season 2 of the show, launching on Feb. 10, was scheduled just days prior to Clarkson’s comments.)

“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.”

In Clarkson’s Dec. 16 column, titled “One day, Harold the glove puppet will tell the truth about A Woman Talking B*ks,” the former “Top Gear” presenter wrote of Markle: “I hate her. Not like I hate [Scottish National Party leader] Nicola Sturgeon or [British serial killer] Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level.”

He continued, referencing an infamous “Game of Thrones” scene involving Lena Headey’s Cersei: “At night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and 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.”

Speaking with ITV in a promotional interview for his top-selling memoir “Spare,” Harry said the column was “horrific, hurtful and cruel towards my wife. It also encourages other people around the U.K. and around the world, particularly men, to go and think that it’s acceptable to treat women that way.” Clarkson issued a brief apology for his words on Dec. 19, saying he had “rather put my foot in it.”
“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,” Clarkson continued in a tweeted statement. “I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future.”

Prime Video swooped for the original “Top Gear” team in 2015 after the BBC cut ties with Clarkson after the host punched one of the show’s producers. The parting of ways with Clarkson and co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May came at a great cost to the BBC, for which “Top Gear” was worth more than £50 million per year, and brought in a massive global audience. The show has continued on the broadcaster with hosts Paddy McGuinness, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris.

You are no longer onsite at your organization. Please log in.
For assistance, contact your corporate administrator. Dismiss Log-In