'Top Gear' host Clarkson says gets final warning over racism row

[Jesus Malverde]

Source: Reuters

Television presenter Jeremy Clarkson said he had received a final warning from Britain's publicly-funded broadcaster, the BBC, over using racist language while filming "Top Gear", one of the world's most popular TV programmes.

Clarkson, 54, was called before BBC bosses this week after the Mirror newspaper reported he was heard using the word "nigger" as he recited an old version of the rhyme "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" to choose between cars in filming two years ago.

The newspaper did not say how it got hold of the footage, which was not aired, but the revelation led to calls for Clarkson to resign or be sacked from the BBC, which is funded by a licence fee paid by all UK households who own a television.

The presenter, known for his humorous but blunt style, apologised in a video on Twitter on Thursday, saying he tried to avoid the racist expression by mumbling over that part of the rhyme in two takes and replacing it with "teacher" in a third.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/05/03/uk-britain-bbc-clarkson-idUKKBN0DJ07P20140503

[alfredo]

1. What an ass. And I liked that show.

[dionysus]

17. well, there's still richard and capt slow...

[alfredo]

18. True, but he was the alpha male.

[truthisfreedom]

2. Somebody tell that lying bastard it's TIGER.

After what he did to Tesla, faking that it ran out of juice and pushing it down the track, he deserves to be sacked.

[Jesus Malverde]

3. Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson accused of racism after "slope" 'slur' during final show of the series

Jeremy Clarkson has found himself at the centre of an alleged racism row after appearing to mock Thai people during the final Top Gear show of the series.

The second episode of the two-part special to end the current series saw presenters Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond travel from Burma as part of a stunt to build a bridge over the River Kwai.

But viewers were left outraged by a "slope" reference, described by Twitter users as "not big, not clever, not funny" and "a gag too far".

"That is a proud moment - but there's a slope on it," said Clarkson, as a figure walked toward them on the bridge.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/top-gear-jeremy-clarkson-accused-3253312

[Jesus Malverde]

4. Big thanks to all the Top Gear off-screen people for a phenomenal job on tonight's show. Have yourse

https://twitter.com/JeremyClarkson/statuses/445310846139654144

There seems to be a pattern here...

Jeremy Clarkson's 10 most outspoken moments
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/top-gear-slope-row-jeremy-3253738

[Xithras]

31. Eeny, Meenie is a racist rhyme, even with the word Tiger

It's the slave-catching chorus of a century old racist "Dixie" song that starts with line about a black man beating his wife. The fact that some people try to clean it up by swapping out one of the words will never change that.

My wife is a kindergarten teacher, and they are flat out banned from using the rhyme in class because of its origins.

[EX500rider]

5. They might be over blowing this one...

He also showed the newspaper production notes for the Top Gear episode, in which he attempted to have the offensive word removed.

The 54-year-old told producers: "I didn't use the N-word here but I've just listened through my headphones and it sounds like I did.

"Is there another take?"

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27253880

Also the clip never even aired.

[pothos]

6. nothing new

his racism, sexism and xenophobia are well known.

[underpants]

7. I love the show but yes he is well known to be a conservative

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Clarkson

[Leith]

15. He Did an Episode of "Who Do You Think You Are"

He came across as a vile person. He openly sneers at anyone who would like less pollution. I've also seen him on QI ("Quite Interesting&quot where the others on the show openly joke about the despair a defendant in a court trial would have seeing him in the jury. He is very abrasive and not very personable.

(If you like quiz shows with laugh-out-loud banter, check QI out on YouTube. Just search "qi series a" and enjoy.)

[alfredo]

19. Thanks for the info. Qi a

[pennylane100]

8. First let me say that there is no excuse for Clarkson's actions.

However, as a person who grew up in Briton, that was a common rhyme that all kids learned. I also lived in the UK at a time when there were very few people of color. and I had no idea of how hurtful and insulting that word was.

When I returned on a visit after living here and other countries for several years, I remember going shopping with my mother and she mentioned that she was going to knit a brown sweater and asked the lady in the store that she was looking for a n***r brown. (This was in the seventies and incredibly they had that exact terminology on the label of the wool)
I told my mom that that word was insulting and it would be better not to use it. Mom had no idea what the word meant and said indignantly, "that does not seem fair, we had the word first."

While it was understandable that people of my parents generation may have not known better, the same cannot be said of
Clarkson who most definitely should have known better.

[alarimer]

9. It's impossible to say whether he actually said it or not

It's a mumble, could be any two-syllable word.

Once you are primed to hear, you will not hear anything else.

I think he is an ass, but I think this kerfuffle is bullshit.

[7962]

10. Had a similar story told by a former neighbor. She was from England too

She was trying to decide which pastry and went with the rhyme. And she was living in the US at the time and was with a few other ladies. One of them was black and as you can imagine had a bit of an issue with it. She said she was so embarrassed after they explained it to her!

[Jesus Malverde]

16. wow...very interesting

http://photonews.org.nz/nelson/issue/NPN67_19660528/fig-NPN67_19660528_056b.html

Example at the link...

[pennylane100]

20. wow

how did you find that photo. The sad thing is that most of the british people, at that time did not realize how insulting those words were.

[Jesus Malverde]

21. google

http://www.snopes.com/racial/business/sofa.asp

It goes on... from 2007

Recently in California we had a mountain renamed.

http://www.lataco.com/taco/negrohead-mountain-name-changed-malibu

Im sure it was common on both sides of the pond.

[Skittles]

30. my English grandmother said "n***** brown" regarding a coat color

(that was about 1985, here in America).....my horrified mum and I quickly corrected her

[truthisfreedom]

11. This may just be a way of moving him along.

He might have rubbed the wrong person the wrong way at a higher level.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. That's extremely unlikely

Top Gear makes money for the BBC, because it has huge overseas sales. It's highly unlikely that there's any feeling he needs to move apart from because of his persistent racism, of which this is the latest example. And even less likely they could engineer him saying the n word twice on tape.

[EX500rider]

25. Yeah, it be a shock to cancel a show with up to 700 million viewers world wide..

Guinness Book of Records holder for most watched factual programme in the world.

http://advertising.bbcworldwide.com/home/mediakit/reachaudience/brandedentertainment/topgear

[intaglio]

12. Clarkson and his crew remind me of nothing so much as the head school bully

his second in command (James May) and the tag-along kid they "rag" (Richard Hammond)

TBH I'll be glad when this tired old man stops polluting British Television.

[Historic NY]

13. his statement on the matter..

http://twitpic.com/e2mc8b

[truthisfreedom]

22. Seems quite sincere, however...

His efforts to discredit Elon Musk and Tesla Motors by faking the failure of the Tesla Roadster track test make him a worthless piece of shit, so by any means necessary, dump him.

[demigoddess]

23. i learned it as

catch a person by the toe, if he hollers let him go.

Would that be considered racist too?? just asking.

[tkmorris]

24. ??? You sound serious...

It's hard to tell.

[demigoddess]

29. of course I am

otherwise !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SARCASM!!!!!!!!!! would have been included in the post.

[truebrit71]

26. I grew up learning those very same words...

...without a racist thought popping into my head...my issue here is that he had to have known there was an alternative word/phrasing because he changed it for the third take. If he'd have really wanted to avoid using that word...why not just not say it/mumble it at all?

I don't think this makes him a racist though...his use of the word "slope" in another broadcast when an Asian man was in picture is another matter entirely...he knew that word had racist overtones, his production crew admitted as much, but their defense was that it was meant in a "light-hearted" manner...

I don't think he's a racist. I just think he's a moron...

[caraher]

27. I'd alway heard it with "tiger"

but learned there was another version 30 years ago when someone said "I'd do 'eeny meeny miny moe' to decide but you can't say that word any more." Confused, I asked what she meant, and she dropped her voice and quickly ran through the whole thing with the offensive word in place.

It did clear up to me the question I'd always had regarding how anyone might imagine catching a tiger by the "toe" and why a tiger would "holler"' (and how it could be my choice whether to "let him go!&quot . So I'm pretty sure all the non-offensive versions are not originals.

[Tikki]

28. He is an ass….I like May and Hammond.

I wonder if the racism is too ingrained in Clarkson to never again be revealed?

Time will tell.


Tikki

[jakefrep]

32. Clarkson is a caveman in many respects,...

...but this "racism" charge seems pretty trumped-up.