'Top Gear' host Clarkson says gets final warning over racism row
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
(60,075 posts)dionysus
(26,467 posts)alfredo
(60,075 posts)truthisfreedom
(23,155 posts)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
(10,274 posts)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
(10,274 posts)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
(16,191 posts)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
(10,856 posts)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
(154 posts)his racism, sexism and xenophobia are well known.
underpants
(182,877 posts)Leith
(7,813 posts)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" 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
(60,075 posts)pennylane100
(3,425 posts)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
(16,245 posts)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
(11,841 posts)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
(10,274 posts)Example at the link...
pennylane100
(3,425 posts)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
(10,274 posts)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
(153,193 posts)(that was about 1985, here in America).....my horrified mum and I quickly corrected her
truthisfreedom
(23,155 posts)He might have rubbed the wrong person the wrong way at a higher level.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,361 posts)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
(10,856 posts)http://advertising.bbcworldwide.com/home/mediakit/reachaudience/brandedentertainment/topgear
intaglio
(8,170 posts)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
(37,453 posts)truthisfreedom
(23,155 posts)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
(6,644 posts)catch a person by the toe, if he hollers let him go.
Would that be considered racist too?? just asking.
tkmorris
(11,138 posts)It's hard to tell.
demigoddess
(6,644 posts)otherwise !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SARCASM!!!!!!!!!! would have been included in the post.
truebrit71
(20,805 posts)...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
(6,279 posts)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!" . So I'm pretty sure all the non-offensive versions are not originals.
Tikki
(14,559 posts)I wonder if the racism is too ingrained in Clarkson to never again be revealed?
Time will tell.
Tikki
jakefrep
(3,982 posts)...but this "racism" charge seems pretty trumped-up.