Last year, I covered one of Jeremy Clarkson’s seemingly endless racist controversies, and it seems like people were interested in him, so here we go again. Clarkson is the decade-long host of the BBC’s Top Gear (seen in the US on BBC America). Top Gear does celebrity interviews, they get celebrities to drive a tricky course in a reasonably priced car, and they also do non-celebrity road trips around various countries. In the past few years alone, Clarkson has been acting like a neo-colonialist buffoon, alienating Argentinians, referring to an Asian man as a “slope,” using the n-word (and then lying about it), mocking disabled people, alienating all of India and describing Mexicans as “lazy” and “feckless.” Seriously. And it’s only now that the BBC has gotten around to doing a temporary suspension. So mysterious, you guys.
Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended by the BBC “following a fracas” with a producer. The corporation said the 54-year-old presenter had been suspended “pending an investigation”.
“No one else has been suspended. Top Gear will not be broadcast this Sunday,” it said.
Clarkson was given what he called his “final warning” last May after claims he used a racist word while filming the popular BBC motoring show. At the time, he said the BBC had told him he would be sacked if he made “one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time”. The BBC gave no further details on the current incident involving Clarkson, and said it would not be making any further statements at this time. Clarkson’s representatives have yet to reply to requests for a comment.
So what was involved with this “fracas”? No one knows for sure. The Daily Mail says Clarkson threw a punch at a male producer. Seriously, and that was what went too far? Not when he said striking workers should be shot? Not all the racist crap?
Obviously, Clarkson has been making “jokes” on Twitter about his suspension – go here to read some of them. There are also a lot of Clarkson fan-boys signing a petition to force the BBC to reinstate him. Hm… is it like the Duck Dynasty thing in America? Like, Clarkson can be as racist and offensive as possible and there will still be knuckle-dragging jackasses who defend him because “people are too sensitive” and “political correctness has gone too far” and “you should be allowed to punch your coworkers, mate.”
Photos courtesy of WENN.
If you punch a person because your dinner isn’t ready on time you seriously need help.
Plus that program is boring as hell and my bf watches it all the time. If they axe it i’ll be the happiest person on the planet.
I like him. He’s awful, but he’s entertaining. And they don’t just alienate other countries. They alienate the States too. They did 2 trips here and both were hilariously scary. They didn’t realize how dangerous people can be here. And when encountering Americans on other trips to other countries they were mocked as well, but it seemed justified.
Still, the man has clear issues.
I love the show, but the way it’s described here sounds boring and awful. Not every episode is great, but it’s a very popular show world wide.
My husband loves Top Gear so I’ve watched a lot of it over the years, amd one thing that is quite obvious is that they have gleefully tried to offend pretty much everyone on the show, including each other. Clarkson has a VERY harsh brand of humor. But he’s intelligent enough that he knows what crosses the line – the Burma comments, the Argentina thing, the Mexico comments. And that’s what I find disappointing, because I don’t have a problem with him being a jerk but I’d rather he not be a racist jerk.
Though in the spirit of fairness, all they said about India was that everyone who goes there gets the trots, which may not be literally true, but sure feels like it.
Bridget
The statement about India. It was true for the group I went there with. If trot means what I think it means… And that’s funny. It’s not trashing a country of people or the country, but I guess it’s about the intent behind it and we can claim things, but we are only the ones interpreting. Also why you don’t drink the water outside of resorts in Mexico. Not because sickness is guaranteed, but because your body will likely react badly to unfamilar organisms.
It’s most definitely what you think it means. He was referencing a car that had been outfitted with a toilet in the back.
And considering all the stuff that’s screwed up about India right now, they get a major side-eye from me for complaining about that.
There’s also The Cairo Quickstep, which has a similar meaning.
The States aka USA is another country. That said, his rabid casual racism is not galling it exemplifies old white men’s fear. This guy is pure garbage.The BBC could recast it and still get excellent ratings. Car enthusiasts will watch regardless.
Not a car person. I enjoy the comedy.And I think you’ve ranted off my point.
The episodes in the states were meant to sort of mock those “white men’s fear” and they were nearly very hurt and barely escaped over it. They weren’t the ones being racist.
And when Clarkson has been gone the show hasn’t been great. The others are funny, but Clarkson would be missed from the show. And having one that was on that long people get use to the hosts and changing 1 thing like the lead host has not worked out. Rarely can a show survive and thrive post a transition like that.
FLORC, are you talking about the time they decorated their cars with, shall we say, provocative messages? They were definitely in-your-face about it, but it was the people who chased them out of town who made the situation scary.
I also agree that the show would pretty much have to end if Clarkson leaves. He IS the show, like it or not. While Hammond and May are funny, it’s Clarkson who is the star, truly.
@outstandingworldcitizen: have you watched the show? I don’t think I would refer to his racism as rabid (for one thing, it was his colleague that made the Mexico comments) and the general problem was that it was indeed quite casual. But the issue at heart is that he got into a physical altercation with a producer, not the racism.
And there’s no way the show would be as successful without Clarkson. It’s essentially his show – they have a US version and still everyone just watches the British version. The show makes a ton of money, so if they fire him they’re going to cancel the show, if just slowly.
The show wouldn’t work without him. I’m a casual watcher of Top Gear so I’ve missed his troubled remarks, from what I have seen, Clarkson is very very funny. Top Gear is the most watched TV show in the world, and it’s not because of the cars. They are by far the best team of hosts in any show. Like Tina and Amy times 10.
Green Girl
I am talking about the South road trip. That was hilarious, but also made me feel ashamed this was the exposure the States got.
They did another where they road tripped to New Orleans.
They started by having to buy used cars. The area they were was a ghetto and the car salesman was carrying a gun for safety. A great line was when one of them observed a man walking down the street and he was holding his junk while walking.
They had to sell the cars at the end and donate the funds to Katrina victims.
They ended up being approached by men claiming it was their street and they had to pay to for being on “their” street. And a woman handling the church fundraisin tried to sue over a bs reason and intended to keep the car too. Corruption.
“The episodes in the states were meant to sort of mock those “white men’s fear” and they were nearly very hurt and barely escaped over it. They weren’t the ones being racist.”
The scary part was that the slogans the had painted on their cars oughtn’t have been seen as so inflammatory that they merited being chased out of town by a bunch of men with baseball bats. As I recall they wrote things like “NASCAR sucks” and “Hilary for President” – incidentally it was the “Nascar Sucks” that prompted a lady to call the guys with the bats. It was a surreal and rather scary incident in an otherwise entertaining episode.
My husband and kids LOVE that show. Being in America we don’t hear most of the gossip surrounding Jeremy. Sounds like he needs an intervention.
I didn’t know anything about his issues, either, except what I’ve read on here. My husband watches the show, and I will (or would) watch parts of it. It can be hilarious or boring or both in one show. I didn’t know he was such a creep.
Clarkson has been pushing and pushing, testing the BBC’s tolerance again and again. His show brings in huge money overseas, but the Beeb is a public service broadcaster and its culture is fundamentally opposed to this type of abusive behaviour. It will be interesting to see if Clarkson is fired – it will cost the BBC millions, but it’s difficult to see how they can keep up putting up with him.
That’s what I was wondering, how could the BBC be okay with broadcasting a program full of racism? It doesn’t matter if it’s making you rich, it’s still racism.
If he gets fired he will go over to Sky as they have tried to buy him time and time again saying he can name a figure but he said his loyalty was to BBC as he has been there with Top Gear for 25 years.
Hope he gets fired once and for all. I used to love the show but when they start to mock (in a insufferable xenophobic way) all the countries they visit it started to irk me, and I am open to not PC kind of jokes…
The last straw was the ultra offensive stunt in Argentina, there is a limit and was far crossed, unsensitive and racist d*ck Mr. Clarksson
I have to agree, I think he has gone too far and that stunt in Argentina put the lives of the crew in serious danger. I honestly get the impression that he is bored and is getting a kick out of pushing the BBC and media liberals as far as he can. I hate the extreme PC agenda of social and mainstream media, but this childish behaviour is ridiculous. I am still happy to watch James May and Richard Hammond championing men and their toys, but it is time for Mr Clarkson to go.
What was BBC thinking when they let him did that I don’t know, but I have family in Argentina and you don’t mess with a conflict that caused great pain and a major loss of young boys lifes (They were forced to fight by a stupid and cruel dictator). I was really mad when I saw it. I’d like to see them do a stunt like this in Israel, let’s see if he has the balls…Oh wait they are not a poor country with zero influence.
I’m really fed up of (some) british acting like we are still in the colonies era.
I watch Top Gear intermittently and quite enjoy it. Clarkson is a hilarious host for most part. I do have a higher tolerance for politically incorrect humour than most people but I can’t say I’d be terribly sorry to see him go; it seems he has been given chances repeatedly and still persists with his behaviour.
Agree. I really like the top gear Specials. Clarkson still has the upper hand. The UK series is hugely popular here in Australia.
I’m mean, he’s a horrible person and we all know that. Between the casual racism and backwards imperialist attitude and HUGE ego he’s dreadful. But darn it all if the man isn’t a fount of knowledge when it comes to cars and a entertaining presenter. And I’m one that can separate the man from the presenter. I’m just disappointed that we won’t get to see the last 3 episodes (they’ve announced they are cancelling the rest of the season), ESP as they just got the greenlight to finally do the test of the hybrid supercars. Finally.
But you can’t punch a producer. Apparently legal action from HR is enough to get the BBC to bend. Honestly if he didn’t bring in so much money, they would have fired him ages ago.
I’m actually surprised that he punched a producer because while he’s a jerk he’s not really been much of a hothead, and I’ll be interested to hear the whole story. Clarkson, May, and Hammond are being pretty flippant about the cancellation, too.
Oh I’m not shocked by that at all. He punched Piers Morgan a few years back (although bravo to that as there are not enough bad words in the English language for Piers Morgan)-and he’s yelled at plenty of people.
I’m a huge Richard Hammond fan-and I can see why he and May are being flippant about it on twitter. At the end of the day-Top Gear is a HUGE cash cow for the BBC, and it doesn’t really work without all 3 of them.
Yes he is known as a hothead. Peirs Morgan has the scar to prove it. He was also questioned by police for hitting some guy in a hoodie but was cleared. I think he hit him from memory; I know he got into the papers years ago about it.
I’m an American so I didn’t hear the gossip on those.
Here in pleb-land youd be sacked immediately for punching ur boss but in BBC land they tolerate this buffoon because the programme is very popular – hes been put on th naughty step. He wil be made to apologise (again) and will make an insincere apology ( again) and wil be back making unfunny jokes about it. I watch the show – its ok but I woudnt miss Clarkson – im sure they could find another jackass to replace him – ther r plenty of them about…
“The greatest arse of a donkey in the world.” Tom Hiddleston about Jeremy Clarkson to Jeremy Clarkson, while mocking Jeremy Clarkson’s voice.
I would have paid money to see that.
All I can hear is “It’s PC gone MAD” in Jeremy Clarkson’s voice.
Money, is why. Jeremy is key to the brand’s success. While no one is irreplacable, the show IS Clarkson, he’s the one who’s made it the very successful and lucrative international hit that it is. May and the small annoying ferrety one could be replaced overnight and the show would go on. Take Clarkson out of the equation and the entire dynamic of the show would change completely to the degree that it just wouldn’t be the Top Gear that people watch and want anymore.
The Beeb is in a hard place. Be interesting to see what happens here. I suspect he’ll be back.
And he’s always been this way, from the beginning of the show. It’s his schtick, and the BBC has always known (and seemingly rewarded) that.
Interesting that it took him punching someone in-house for a suspension to happen.
Wonder what will happen long term?
The thing is, the other incidents were sanctioned by the Beeb. They make/produce/ok the programme, and it’s not live so the producers have every opportunity to remove anything likely to cause offence before broadcast. eg. they knowingly included the ‘slope’ remark, fully aware that it was a derogatory term, but thought they’d get away with it because, in their own ‘apologetic’ words, ‘we didn’t think it was a known derogatory term in the UK’.
And this came AFTER denials by the producers that they were aware it WAS an offensive term!
And pretty much the same thing happened with other instances where the Beeb’s first response was to deny, then downplay, then (reluctantly and begrudgingly) apologise, all done to protect their product.
So the clear difference between those incidents and this latest one is that the former were sanctioned by the Beeb, the latter was Jeremy losing his temper and punching a colleague. That’s why he’s been suspended.
Guesto
Good point. The producers play a big role in this. They let it go through. And they know Clarkson can say awful things. Things can be edited or bleeped out.
@FLORC – yes, exactly. Which is why I find their whole approach to Clarkson more than hypocritical. Had they edited out the potentially troublesome stuff prior to broadcast, none of the subsequent controversy would have happened and none of the faux apologies would have been necessary.
ETA – Just watched a Beeb news report on this, and they described what happened as Jeremy ‘aiming a punch’ at the other guy. So, not an actual punch, but an aimed one which suggests no impact. I’m not condoning it – obviously you can’t go around aiming punches at your colleagues, and his suspension pending investigation is absolutely correct – but still…
There was also a brief interview with James May who said, ‘yes, Jeremy’s a knob, but I quite like him’.
I kind of like him too, knobishness and all.
Without the trio, there will not be Top Gear. Top Gear is a big money maker for BBC, last year it made £30 mil. He has issues but people love him.
So typical. Behavior that would, or should, get me fired in a split second is tolerated because he makes a lot of money for them. So he learns nothing, and gets worse. Bad for them, bad for him. But we have no rooms for scruples in our system of money worship.
i am not clarkson fan personally but i really like top gear and i would be sad if he leaves the show. top gear can’t survive without him.
i like that top gear doesn’t have sponsors or adds which allows them to be honest and direct. they take it a bit too far sometimes but it i don’t hold it against them because they are mean to everybody equally including themselves. there bitchiness is universal for all nations, races, carmakers, politicians, countries… to give an example they treat france as an obstacle to getting to italy by car, but french don’t give a f***k about it and why should they? their show about india was mocking india and indians but even more it mocked britain and their empire days. i watch top gear for very long time and to me cars, fun, controversies and bitchiness are spread around quite equally what makes it great watch.
The french don’t mind mind because they’re a respected Western European country. They are a brand, and like most big cointries, they have a voice. When someone says something derogatory about France, people ignore it because they are familiar with France. When someone says something derogatory about Mexico, or Bulgaria or something like that, people will take it as the truth.
If you showed a picture of a run down building and said it was from Western Europe, people would say -it’s just one run down building. But id you showed the same picture and said it was from Eastern Europe most people would think that the whole country looks like that.
i don’t remember them being in bulgaria, but top gear had awesome show filmed in romania (neighborhood), in which they showed all of it, slams that looked like slams, cities that looked like cities anywhere in the world but they also showed romanian riviera on the black sea with all of it’s blitz and bling. are we supposed to conclude that everything in romania is more posh than monte carlo because it really looked more exclusive? off course not, romania is all of it, it is cheerful children running along their cars in the slam, city folks minding their own business who barely acknowledged top gear crew and riviera folks who looked down on them because they had better cars (as hard as it is to believe) and most of all magnificent scenery and landscape of romanian mountains. just like french aren’t offended or even bothered with top gear’s opinion i think that romanians aren’t either, and why would they be. maybe i’m wrong but i strongly believe that in 21’st century we as a collective are smart enough to ignore generalizing punchlines (like all mexicans are lazy, or italians eat stray cats), not on first but on a second thought for sure.
*dies a little inside because a) he is British and b) so many idiotic Brits confuse workplace violence and pride in xenophobia with political correctness*
Sixlet Minor LOVES Top Gear and laughs at non-PC jokes as much as any pubescent boy does, and even he can see that punching someone at work over a plate of frickin’ sandwiches is a sacking offence, and he’s eleven for crissakes.
ARGH ARGH ARGH ARGH ARGH ARGH.
THIS. Pride in xenophobia is exactly how I’d describe Clarkson
He’s best mates with AA Gill, who also makes a career out of boorishness. I guess if it sells, people will buy, and I will continue on feeling hot shame for my countrymen. Ho hum.
But the workplace, and violence within it, or indeed anywhere – well, that’s a completely different kettle of fish.
Oh, and half of British Twitter (the wanky half) is actually invoking Jimmy Saville over this. I might emigrate.
SERIOUSLY?! Clarkson is a a*se h0le, but he’s no Jimmy Saville.
@L – Saville is not being invoked as a comparison! He’s been used as a disgusting example of what the BBC knowingly sanctioned and condoned for decades, and yet here the same BBC is, suspending a man and taking his show off air for getting into a rut with a producer. It’s the stinking hypocrisy that’s causing the outrage.
@ L
No, people aren’t suggesting Clarkson is as bad as Saville. They are, as Guesto illustrates, suggesting that since the BBC failed in due diligence over Saville and subsequently tried to cover up that failure by spiking documentaries about it, that it would be unfair if they sacked Clarkson for punching a colleague at work.
Quite how that logic works, I can’t imagine.
“Hi, we are the BBC and we completely failed the public over noted sex abuser Jimmy Saville. Because we did that, we now feel it’s incumbent upon us to treat all transgressors with equal laissez faire. Jeremy Clarkson is therefore completely free to punch colleagues any time he likes. And if anyone makes a documentary about it, we’ll spike that one, too.”
SIGH.
ETA: Mr Sixer just said to me, “Bet you any money you like the producer turns out to be a woman and fools are still arguing that it was ok for Jeremy Clarkson to hit her in the workplace this time next year, with another load of fools saying not ok because she’s a woman but it would have been if it was a man because SAVILLE because PC because HUMAN RIGHTS RUIN EVERYTHING because INSERT MORE NONSENSE HERE AD INFINITUM.”
I think he is a tad p!ssed orff.
It makes me wonder why so many people enjoy seeing a racist guy and find racist jokes “funny”.
I think he appeals to the id. All these poor people, put upon and downtrodden into acting as civilized as they can manage – they look at him, and think, “Gor, what if I could flail around and spew my mental poo all over everyone, and with no consequences? That’d be lovely.”
Agree with you. He’s not funny, he’s a boor.
Because the show can be very, very funny too. They do some really interesting projects and it’s ironic that they’re under fire for a couple of their travel specials because some of the others have been completely fascinating (for example, their trip to Bolivia and the world’s most dangerous road). Clarkson is a jerk – and he’s a total jerk to everyone. The racist stuff is noteworthy because it’s so out of place; it’s not like watching the 700 Club with a weekly spewing of hate.
I have a feeling people are so set against Clarkson by association Top Gear the show will be bad and no one will crak a smile or allow themselves to smile out of spite 😉
It’s funny and they do celebrate other cultures. What episode was it where the local community threw a festival for them. They were respectful and seemed genuinly shocked it was over them. Also, they were all very careful to be respectful in a way that translated for that culture.
Take a look at this comment section, many of them are here, excusing his behavior because they think he’s funny.
As if there aren’t loads of funny comedians who aren’t racist assholes.
Top Gear is my favorite show hands down. It doesn’t work without Jeremy. He’s got an acid tongue, not unlike Joan Rivers for instance, but he seems to go after everyone, all people, at all times. If he’s gone too far a few times, I give him the benefit of the doubt that it was an attempt at humor that failed instead of actual racism he feels in his heart. At least I hope that’s the case. Only he knows.
Agree. Jeremy can be accused of all sorts of boorishness but I’ve never seen him as racist.
There are stories. And people think he’s caught himself before saying racist things, but i’ve listened to that audio and he didn’t say anything. It’s a listeners interpretation.
He has admitted to using the n-word, but not with hateful intent.
I was raised knowing the word. I never used it in a hateful way. And i’ve used it in a historical sense, but not to insult or reference a person or people. Am I a racist over that? Is the N-word like he who shall not be named because my skin is light?
i have heard stories he is also homophobic-John Barrowman pretty much came out and said it and ended up on the ITV show instaed
I love him! I love the show and all the wonderful places he goes. I think it’s so funny how he talks about everyone. America is so sensitive and we always have to be politically correct. Well, he doesn’t agree and he says what he wants! If he leaves I won’t watch anymore. Which would be a big shame!
I will be glad when my tax is not involved fiancé a show with a boorish biggot.People have short trem memories and 3 years down the line it will pick up viewers they have lost
There is already a show just like top gear, an american version, and it just doesn’t have “it”.
The American Top Gear was awful. Only 1 of them was insured to drive the fancy car so he would always win as a result. They did make fun of this in the show,but it was so fixed the jokes throughout the show could only go 1 way.
UK version is still the best imo.
Here’s the thing – each of Clarkson’s “racist” anecdotes shows no clear intention of being horribly racist, and none of those incidents (save the Mexican one) was played for laughs. If the “slope” comment was intended to be racist, it was completely lost on the viewer, and was not presented as a joke on the “bridge on the river kwai” episode. Only the BBC producers and film crew will ever know the truth about the Argentine episode, but the story was that the license plate was already on a used car purchased for the episode. Of course, this is the same team the painted pro-gay slogans on a car and drove it through the American south, but it seems one thing to mock a conservative culture and another to mock a particular historical episode. In the Mexican episode, these comments were made by Richard Hammond, if I recall correctly, who was griping about how he hates Mexican food (“it looks like sick with cheese on it!”) and the episode set in Mexico confronted and transcended these tired stereotypes of Mexicans as “lazy” or “feckless.” Hammond was ribbed about Mexico for the rest of the season, especially when he “accidentally” painted a Mexican flag on the hood of a car when he intended to paint an Indian flag. Again, only the film crew – or Clarkson himself -will ever know if he really said the n-word in the nursery rhyme, but it’s not like he doubled down and insisted on airing his use of a racist word. He re-shot the scene so there could be no confusion about what was said. He backed away from the word and his use of it.
All this said, I am not some rabid Clarkson apologist. I can completely believe that the man is a giant, egotistic asshole to work for, but he’s brilliant at what he does, which is to make compelling stories about cars for television, and riff off his other two presenters to make jokes. I don’t think he’s free of racism either. When I heard he named his dog after a black Chelsea footballer, I more than gave him the side-eye. He should be called out on inappropriate and offensive nonsense like this. It’s worlds away from Taylor Swift naming her cat Olivia Benson. Criticism of one’s actions is what comes with being a public figure.
What I don’t like is how this debate has been polarized between the “PC speech is for wussies” crowd and the “Clarkson is a terrible, overt racist” crowd. Neither side has it correct. Clarkson is not some Howard Stern of the UK; he’s an occasionally-blundering 50 year-old man who has blundered his way into what seems like accidental racism. I don’t think it’s appropriate to threaten to sack someone over what could be interpreted as racism but was not intended as such. Yes, he should have his ass handed to him in public debate over these incidents and the BBC should come down on him, as they have. That’s how people learn what constitutes racism and bias rather than fleeing the term. But it’s not as though he is using his show as a platform to gleefully spread hate speech or racism.
I still think he punched a producer (which is awful, and possibly criminal), and this is an excuse for his suspension.
I think this piece at the Telegraph sums things up nicely.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/top-gear/11463785/I-like-Jeremy-Clarkson.-He-is-a-good-egg….html
I’ve been wondering about the Mexico comments, because I saw the episode and I specifically remember Hammond actually making the comments.
And yet all of this is a moot point now that Clarkson’s punched a producer. Sheesh.
I was genuinely afraid for them when they painted the car with pro-gay slogans and we’re chased down by rabid, anti-gay people in America.
It’s all very well to say Americans in the south aren’t all anti-gay, and we’ll never know if they were deliberately provoked off camera into such an OTT response, but it was a bad viewing of the American underbelly.
LAK
That was scary and a very real reaction to how they acted down there. It was shameful.
He knows exactly what he is saying and he says it to be funny/controversial because that is his type of humour, cheap racist and tastless. He knew (and so did everyone else) about the Thailand/slope comment. He also did say the n word under his breath (it is on youtube). He insults everyone in the name of humour. Whether or not someone finds it funny is up to the individual but he has insulted everyone from Tony Blair (who he called a c#nt) to the Malaysians (who he said they were jungle people and wear leaves for shoes which is why they can’t make cars) he joked about the deaths of he chinese cockle pickers, and frankly no country has gone unscathed.
To be fair, Tony Blair is a c*nt. Of the first order. Jeremy was only telling the truth on that score.
Im one of those public sector workers who was striking (for a 1% rise that we never got) who Clarkson said “should be taken out and shot”. I pay for a TV license (compulsory) so I help pay his enormous salary of £1 million a year. If I punched my boss I’ d b out on my arse. The BBC has indulged him like a naughty child for far too long but hes actually hit someone – they cant endorse that surely no matter who he thinks he is.
Political Correctness HAS gone to far in many areas.
That said he is an overpaid, narcissist bigot and I hope his current bravado backfires and he ends up hosting some crappy daytime quiz show on Channel 5.
Wait? He’s 54? I’m older than he is and I look 20 years younger than he does.
I couldn’t really care much less about why this epic douche has finally been suspended because it has been sooooo long coming. We get a “harsh” British sense of humor but that’s not what this guy is about. Not surprised that the knuckle dragging brigade is leaping to his defence because, well, you defend your own.
Top Gear would probably survive with a less primitive mindset surely.
The trouble the BBC has is the amount of money they make from Top Gear. They know if they sack him/cancel the programme permanently, another channel will immediately see the ££££ signs and sign him (and maybe the others) up for a similar programme on their channel and rake in the money instead. The BBC is under fire over the litany of stars who have now turned out to be abusers, calls for the TV License to be abolished because it’s so outdated (which I agree with) Etc, this could turn into a huge disaster for them.
That said, if he’s punched someone at work, it’s not right, and as another poster above has said, my compulsory TV licence pays his wages. I’d never work in my field again if I punched someone. However, it won’t surprise me AT ALL if he’s not punished because the BBC in my opinion are corrupt and only think about the money.
Good riddance to this old man and his awful blue jeans. Two weeks ago in an interview he repeatedly referred to Gillian Anderson’s “moist lap.” Ugh — on a show watched by families? It’s not appropriate.
He was on final warning b/c a clip emerged last year of him saying “n*gg*r.” His apology was weak and patronizing. I’ve watched Top Gear for years, and Jazza is getting meaner and ruder and more aggressive.
Between his heightened assholery on air and his marital woes, I think he may be having a breakdown.
He’s like the Edina Monsoon
On Absolutely Fabulous.
Unfortunately he seems to be that charactors 24/7/365!
Hey Kaiser. I’m currently living in England (Hawaiian transplant) and the story here is…they were filming all day. When they got back there was no food laid out. He lost it and started smacking a producer. Footage has been turned over and they’re deciding whether to sack him or not. I’m sure there is more to the story. As you’ve mentioned all the recent shenanighans he’s been involved with, and it began many years ago. His conract is up and rumor is Sky wants him. So BBC may or may not fight for him. We’ll see… he’s not taking it seriously, as he’s been tweeting about hanging at the pub and having a pint.
this is not the reaction of a rationale man let alone one with any semblance of intelligence.I think he needs a stint of aggression therapy or he is on drugs.
I think the BBC booked up the whole hotel… they arrived after 10 pm and there was not hot food…. Clarkson wanted steak, which the manager finally cooked….
I mean, how hard is it to just cook a steak, if you have VIP guests (and no other guests), without a fuss? why it had to be this way? poor management of the hotel (after all day filming, they get offered a cheese plate – pleeeease
I would be furious
You know what I honestly don’t understand? Top Gear is not a live show. You can’t just say something stupid and “oops, it was live, can’t take it back now”. It gets heavily edited before release, by a gazillion people, and then approved by a bunch more. And it’s not a one man show. Clarkson does not do any of this by himself. If the BBC considers certain things he says to be offensive, then why don’t they edit them out before airing? Why is he the only one to get crapped on for what his employers clearly considered appropriate for public consumption?
“One more offensive remark” indeed… Don’t they mean “one more offensive remark that we could have edited out but decided to approve to be aired instead”? There’s more going on here, surely.
@Erandyn – you are so right! If the producers, the Beeb or their lawyers had a problem with any of his comments, they had ample opportunity to do something about it before any of those episodes hit the airwaves.
Can he be called a racist bigot if he’s offensive to literally everyone? He doesn’t pick and chose or treat anyone differently. He just says and does whatever he wants.
Prick yes, racist no.
Now hes quipped that he’ s “off to th job centre” hel never need to go to a jobcentre unlike milions of others – wev even got th PM wading in now saying hes a huge talent – ffs – and they thnk hes irreplacable? Pubs in th uk are full of blokes just like him. Im sick of th time and headlines being wasted on this arrogant t****r and I cant believe th petition to bring him back has half a million supporters? WTF? So its ok to b a workplace bully now? Thats news to me. Wen is this indulgence of so called stars going to end? Are they realy going to continue to get away with anything?
there is now an alternative petition to have him fired
Clarkson is a breath of shockingly fresh air….