My Thoughts on Jeremy Clarkson's Suspension

My Thoughts on Jeremy Clarkson’s Suspension

Let’s face it, this was almost certainly going to happen at some point. Jeremy Clarkson always has and always been a controversial figure. He is very much a marmite figure, you either love or hate his antics. Honestly I laughed when I first hear this news because it was so typical of Mr. Clarkson. All this from the presenter of what started out in his words as a pokey motoring show, Jeremy Clarkson is very much a household name. Finally all the controversy has caught up with him. Here’s my spin on it.

Clarkson and the producer he apparently punched

 

I’ll start of by saying I am a fan of Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson, I think he’s really funny. However I will be as objective as possible for this discussion and for what it’s worth I can perfectly understand why people hate him. However Jeremy Clarkson quite clearly does not take himself seriously, at least on television. He is very sarcastic and he is very much a laugh at everything kind of person. He does walk a tightrope a times but personally I don’t think he’s ever crossed a line. A lot of his controversial moments are taken way out of context. Some previous examples include his N word incident, when he said strikers should be shot on The One Show and the recent trouble in Argentina.

 

The easiest to dispel is his appearance on The One Show. Yes he said strikers in the public sector should be shot. Go online and it will talk about how awful it is. He started off by saying how fantastic all the strikes were because London was empty. He followed this up by saying he has to balance it up because it’s the BBC so they should all be shot in front of their families. He was obviously being sarcastic in his comments, he doesn’t actually think public sector workers should be shot. He has his own views and made them clear. I watched this at the time and I thought it was pretty funny. He was joking in his exaggeration, but people were offended so he apologised.

 

The N word. I hate this word, it’s a disgusting and degrading term and a reminder of the monstrosity that is racism. I may be a fan of Clarkson but if he had been racist then I would have been appalled. When I was first alerted to this incident I was but then I saw the clip. He does not say that word. The rhyme is very common, I remember hearing and using it all the time when I was younger although the way I was taught it had the N word replaced with Tigger from Whinnie the Pooh. Clarkson starts the rhyme but mumbles through the middle and does not use that word. He makes strange humming noises as filler but he does not use that word. The original rhyme uses that awful word but Clarkson, so I think the controversy here is ridiculous. I don’t see how you could take offense in someone humming in place of using a racist word, that would be like being offended at the beeping sound used to censor a swear word.

 

Finally Argentina. I remember watching the Christmas episodes and being utterly shocked at what I was seeing. I knew there was still some tension out there but I didn’t realise it was to that degree. The attacks were savage and it’s a miracle that no one was seriously hurt, or worse. The question is did Clarkson have anything behind that number plate. I doubt it. He has always apologised for his controversial moments, even if he didn’t believe he was wrong. He maintains his innocence here and I don’t see any reason to accuse him of lying, there’s no proof. Plus it’s not like he alone was responsible for that car. The show’s producers and cameramen and fellow hosts had seen it and didn’t bat an eyelid. The BBC surely would’ve stopped him if he had gone to the trouble to get a personalised number plate to offend Argentina. I think it was an honest mistake.

 

Of course there are plenty of things I haven’t mentioned from him saying the BBC is obsessed with hiring Black Muslim lesbians to his ordeal with Mexico but I still don’t think he has overstepped the line. Jeremy Clarkson speaks his mind, but he does not intend for any of us to take him seriously. It’s easy to remember people poke a lot of fun at him, as well as him at himself. His humour is not for everyone but I don’t think he is trying to offend anyone.

 

So what about his most recent incident. All the BBC have said is because of a fracas with a producer. For those of you (Such as myself) who don’t know what Fracas means, it is a noisy disturbance or quarrel. However he has also been said to have punched producer. Not much has been said. What confuses me is he was apparently on his last chance after the N word incident according to the BBC. If he really did punch a producer then why haven’t they sacked him? They have come out saying no one man is bigger than the club. If it’s that serious then according to their own words he should have been sacked. However he is only suspended.

 

Maybe they need to investigate further, although I can’t see how much needs to be looked into for someone punching someone else. Fellow Top Gear presenter James May was spoken to Outside his house and he said it’s not that serious. Obviously he won’t say too much as he doesn’t want to get himself or his mate into trouble but surely there is some truth in this. Otherwise he would’ve said he didn’t know anything.

 

Top Gear makes the BBC a colossal amount of money. The show is popular worldwide and in its current format would not work without Clarkson. He is arguably the most important presenter on the show, he is certainly the face of the show. Whenever there’s an advertisement he’s in the centre. Plus they would lose a large number of fans if he wasn’t present. If they want Top Gear to continue being a success they cannot afford to sack him.

 

This will likely be a temporary thing. It is a shame that the Top Gear is not on this Sunday or if I’, no mistaken the week after but I imagine it’ll be back soon. A lot of people have come out in support of Clarkson and I can’t see the BBC cutting him loose. It would not be a smart move to sack him, for the BBC or the fans of Top Gear. What we all need to remember is Jeremy Clarkson is a massive idiot, but that’s part of his TV persona. We all know someone who acts like a bit of a tool, doesn’t make them a bad person. I enjoy him on TV but I don’t take him seriously at all. Yes he walks a fine line sometimes but let’s face it, what he does would be a lot more boring if he didn’t. So don’t over react, instead enjoy him if you like him, ignore him if you don’t and hopefully soon back on BBC 2 during Sunday nights will be the greatest car show … IN THE WORLD!