As the host of Top Gear, it's basically Jeremy Clarkson's job to be as blokeishly offensive as possible – a job he usually lets his haircut and wardrobe selection carry out for him – and that gets him into trouble when he describes cars as "a bit gay."
Media watchdog Ofcom yesterday decided that Jeremy Clarkson probably was being a little bit homophobic after a flood of complaints came from viewers outraged that he said of the Daihatsu Copen "A bit gay, yes, very ginger beer,” on a Top Gear episode. However, not all the complaints to Ofcom were about Jeremy Clarkson's gay jibe – around 20% of complaints pointed out that the sight of a lanky lighthouse-dwelling Genesis fan who went to the same public school as an Archbishop of Canterbury standing around in a pair of awful jeans and inexplicably deciding to talk in cockney rhyming slang is something that should never be seen on British television again.
Annoying gay people has rarely been so fashionable. Simon Cowell has done it on American Idol, all of Life On Mars possibly did it a little bit and Isaiah Washington has done it so much he had to go to rehab for it – and now we can add Jeremy Clarkson to that list.
Apparently, on his much-watched Top Gear show, Jeremy Clarkson – a man who once almost got Top Gear banned for driving up a hill – stopped doing stunts like building a car out of crisp packets with hilarious consequences and ploughing fields with a midget's head with vaguely less hilarious consequences to lay into the Daihatsu Copen – a Japanese car that looks as if it was designed exclusively for female hairdressers. When, on air, Jeremy Clarkson asked an audience member if he'd buy a Daihatsu Copen, the man replied "No, it's a bit gay" to which Jeremy Clarkson replied "A bit gay, yes, very ginger beer.” And that's when the complaints started. The Times reports:
Ofcom, the media watchdog, ruled this morning that there was “no justification” for the comment. The watchdog turned to the Oxford English Dictionary and agreed that “gay” can be used to mean “foolish, stupid and socially inappropriate, or disapproved of and lame”. However, it ruled that in conjunction with “ginger beer”, Cockney rhyming slang for queer, Clarkson intended to criticise the car by describing it as homosexual.
See? If Jeremy Clarkson had just left it at "gay" we'd have all assumed that he meant the car was socially inappropriate – but no, he had to get all Guy Ritchie about it as well, the fool. Although Ofcom has upheld the complaints, it won't take any further action against Jeremy Clarkson because the BBC has already upheld complaints that it received directly about the incident.
Ofcom's ruling will act as a timely reprimand for Jeremy Clarkson. In turn, Jeremy Clarkson has promised to never call cars gay again, and will only limit his bone-headed slurs to jibes about women, blacks, Asians, the Irish, American, Jews, Mormons, people with ginger hair, fat people, cross-eyed people and people who only look gay when actually they're not.
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jez b says
I found this article to be a bit bent.
Adolph says
Its daft to call the Daihatsu Copen gay, ginger beerish, when in fact its a screeming woofta with a boofant hairdo. It’s a nancy wagon, a bijou cross dressing faggot mobile.
It probably parks sideways and needs driving side saddle. Even if it isn’t on the fudge packers wish list, it’s a car for a blonde bimbette and hair dressers, nail bar
opperatives and pasadoble finalists. This car is so effeminate, its options were bonnet breasts, a clitoris on the steering wheel and extra large rear end. GAY, its positively
mincing. Well said Jeremy. You know a closet car when you see one!
Warren says
Wow, adolpf, you used so big offensive words – I’m sure that makes your little dick a few inches bigger. What a complete twat you are.
Bruce says
Well you see gay’s are special. So special that people should not be allowed to make fun of them like everyone else. Typical PC tripe.
ED says
Ploughing a field with a midgets head put just inappropriate. Thats disgusting you could say such a vile thing about Richard Hammond.