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Jeremy Clarkson Dismissed From Top Gear
An anonymous reader writes According to BBC News, Jeremy Clarkson, longstanding main host for the automobile television show Top Gear, will not have his contract renewed. This decision came about two weeks after he was suspended due to an altercation with a Top Gear producer involving catering during filming for the show. Admittedly not the nerdiest news of the day, but it can be said that his thirteen-year run on the new format of Top Gear has interested many Slashdot users who love their cars and the entertainment that the show has brought to them.
And on that Bomb shell...
End of show.
will be watching bbc management scramble when they realize their cash cow left the building when May and Hammond, decline to renew their contracts.
He is Boorish and bigoted against American vehicles.
Richard Hammond could carry that show all by himself. James May would be a perk.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
No, because their star with an over-inflated ego physically assaulted a coworker and drew blood. Nobody should have to put up with that. That being said I'll miss him as he was a fairly unique personality in tv.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
He put his colleague in A&E over a dispute about hot vs cold food. The BBC did the only thing they could have.
Top Gear works because of the chemistry between the presenters, not because of any one person –this could be good for the series, as their schtick was getting a bit tired and repetitive, in my opinion.
I’m sure lots of us will be interested to see what the BBC, with or without Hammond & May, can do with the show next.
Fact is BBC are getting dragged over the coals for letting all kinds of behavior from past stars go unchecked in order to keep the money flowing, including pedophiles. While I love Top Gear and will be sad to see its demise apparently he put the producer in hospital. Even if that is not true what is not in dispute is that he physically assaulted another person and some lines cannot be crossed no matter who you are or what you bring in. My anger in this case is not with the BBC, but with Clarkson himself. As far as I am concerned he killed Top Gear and no-one else.
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio disagree.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
The BBC is a public broadcaster, funded and owned by mandatory license fees in the UK.Clarkson was on contract to the BBC. Once the organization confirmed that unprovoked verbal and physical abuse had occurred, they had to take action or leave the corporation open to an indefensible lawsuit from the victim. They can't exactly say, "Yeah, get stuffed. We have extensive policies promoting equality and prohibiting harassment and violence in the workplace, but we're ignoring them because the presenter is popular and profitable."
No doubt Clarkson and pals will make a profitable jump to Netflix or Sky to make a similar motoring comedy show. Meanwhile, the BBC has a chance to reinvent Top Gear with younger presenters and a reinvigorated format (there are only so many new Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Aston Martins that can be driven around a track in a cloud of smoke every week and only so many routes for contrived road trips through war zones in ancient sports cars).
Great, they're going to completely destroy their cash cow and the enjoyment of the audience because some butthurt C-level trust fund baby got his little feewings hurt.
I mean, c'mon, you used both in the same sentence!
Even if the guy intentionally put his food in the refrigerator, it would not justify flipping out and yelling for 20 minutes, let alone punching the producer in the face.
I'll miss the show as it exists now, and not just because of the cars and the trips and the stunts - I'll miss it because Top Gear UK isn't afraid to call a manufacturer out on a bad car. That's something the US version can't, and won't do -- because in the US, you don't badmouth the very people who give you money in exchange for advertising on your show / magazine.
It was good while it lasted, and it's remarkable it lasted this long.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
Clarkson is positive about cars he finds he likes, and he is negative about cars he finds he dislikes. Plenty of both of those in the world - see how much he hates Peugeot if you think its a "hate on America" thing..
Exactly. He's a dick, a bully, and completely deserved to get fired (and don't get me started on what I think of his "fans" who want to excuse his behavior and force the BBC to do the exact wrong thing and keep him on after he put a colleague in the ER while throwing a tantrum over what food was being catered in, so you can probably guess I'm not one of his "supporters"), but he was entertaining, and he shouldn't be condemned for things he didn't do. In my opinon as an American who watched the show, Clarkson wasn't particularly bigoted against Americans or American cars (as the parent noted, there were plenty of American cars he did like). He was funny and amusing, and quite intelligent. A shame he has the emotional intelligence of a child, can't handle his drink, and seems to think it's OK to hospitalize colleagues when he's had a couple doesn't get the food he wants when he wants, because that clearly makes him unfit for emloyment regardless of his on-air talents.
Are they hiring a new racist then?
No I am pretty sure they make more money off Top Gear being a worldwide success then they do off the British TV tax.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Top Gear had hired most of a small hotel for a filming shoot. The shoot went on longer than expected and when they got back to the hotel they found the kitchen was closed. Not exactly unexpectedly since the kitchen open hours were stated.
So the idea that this was somehow a conspiracy by the producer to get Clarkson fired seems like a stretch unless you think he deliberately delayed the shoot so they would get back after the kitchen was closed.
These comments are my personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the other voices in my head.
Moron. Won't change a thing here. Cut the cable cord a while back, Hulu for back episodes, and non usian web sites for the current season. The Stig-The Stig The Snob-to be replaced The Bloke-Hammond The Bard-May Reboot with another Snob. I can only imagine what his real snob position as real or faker is in the brit class system. Here in the US we don't pick up on that fine gradation.
Right, so you wouldn't punch a guy who called your mom, or someone close to you, a whore? We have to know exactly all those things that provoked Jeremy to punch this guy instead of rushing to a quick and inaccurate judgement.
The refrigerator thing would definitely deserve being yelled at, don't you think? Employees have been fired for lesser offences.
The UK has much, much lower tolerances for satire and criticism than the US. Check out this list of "screw-ups" that Clarkson made-- all of which contributed to his final release from the BBC. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/top-gear/11137651/Poll-Which-of-Jeremy-Clarksons-gaffes-is-worse.html) Almost all of the "wrongs" done have been issues of him being "rude".
Drink-driving, July 2008 - The press would like to have you believe that this is was illegal and atrocious. But it wasn't. He was in a customized, polar-ready Toyota Hilux driving to the North Pole over international waters. There were no roads. There were no people on the ice. There were no laws forbidding drinking behind the wheel.
Lorry drivers, November 2008 - Like many subgroups, Clarkson feigned disdain for truck drivers by describing them as hard-working, but sloppy, porno-obsessed men who murder prostitutes. This fits perfectly in with his "overgrown ignorant man-child" character that he plays on TV.
Gordon Brown, February 2009 - He called the Prime Minister a "one-eyed Scottish idiot". The PM is blind in one eye. It's disrespectful but does no damage to anyone.
Black Muslim Lesbians, October 2009 - In an exaggerated protest of diversity efforts within the BBC, Clarkson said that the BBC was obsessed with hiring black, Muslim lesbians. He never implied that it was a bad thing (especially since he's quite fond of lesbians), but was point out the obsession with diversity.
Burkas and lingerie, July 2010 - During a Top Gear discussion on distractions while driving: “Honestly, the burka doesn’t work. I was in a cab in Piccadilly the other day when a woman in a full burka crossing the road in front of me tripped over the pavement, went head over heels and up it came, red g-string and stockings.” Again, this is a conversation between a few "guys" on an exaggerated comedy show, not Sesame Street. There's no reason for this to be a mark on one's record.
Special needs, August 2010 - Clarkson referred to a Ferrari as 'special needs' and a 'simpleton' as a way of giving it a bad review. Many people still use the term "retarded" to describe an action today. Some people take offense to it. In the UK, when "some people take offense", it's a scandal.
Mexico, February 2011 - An actual issue! Clarkson, during a discussion on Top Grear with fellow presenters James May and Richard Hammond, described Mexicans as "a lazy, feckless, flatulent oaf with a moustache, leaning against a fence asleep". This is prejudice and stereotyping of impermutable characteristics and they deserved every bit of flak they got for it... but that's audacity humor for you.
India, January 2012 - Viewers complained about Clarkson's provocative remarks concerning the country's clothing, trains, food and history. To be fair, they demonstrated the issues with the trains and food, but I don't remember them saying anything critical of their clothing or history. Clarkson put a toilet seat on the back of his car "just in case" he got diarrhea. Ask anyone who has been to India-- this is a genuine concern. I have colleagues *from India* who refuse to drink anything but bottled and will refuse ice when offered (since it's made from tap water).
The 'N'-word, May 2014 - First off, Clarkson never said the N-word in the purported clip. He never even mumbled it. As he said in his explanation, they had done 3 takes of a scene where he was reciting "Eeny Meeny Miny Mo" where in the old school version would use the term n**ger. In one take, he murmured something to take the place of the word. In the second take, he left the space blank. In the third take, he replaced the word with "teacher". In reviewing the takes, he immediately contacted his production crew and ordered them not to use the first take because if you turn it up REALLY loud, you can convince yourself that the word is being said when it wasn't. (Paul is dead.) YEARS LATER, the video of the unused take resurfaced and somehow became a scandal.
Slope, July 2014 - Ofcom said
The Ford Fiesta review was stunning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e7R3y-qwZ0
"Jersey is like a Lamborghini Miura from the 70s. Originally awesome even as it breaks down from time to time and slips into decrepit use. It always remained awesome as its lunacy remains. And then one day it (in a prima donna hissyfit?) PUNCHES your plain old Ford Focus of a producer right in the face when he says "You will fill up with this crappy 85 octane out of an old pail even though you are specified to only use 93 octane... And you will like it!". And then everyone came out of the woodwork and starts saying "It wasn't a sensible car" when that was NEVER the point and was why it was wonderful to begin with."
When they are out on a shoot I would expect a quality hot meal for the camera men and the grips let alone your star presenter!
Do you think they'll just hop channels to C4 or even Sky?
They try to make electric cars look bad any way they can and drool over wasteful, polluting muscle cars that are of use to no one.
Bunch of idiots.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
The correct headline would be "Millionaire Celebrity Thug and Bigot Finally Dismissed by BBC."
The correct subhead would be "Assault on staff last straw, after insults to Mexico and use of n-word insufficient to force BBC executives to punish their cash cow."
Probably laughing about this.
I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
Yes, you are watching the wrong one.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Their own on-air commentary on winning an award for being a "factual based" program is priceless.
I've never known a media producer to act in a way which would not provoke a physical attack at some point.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
Right, so you wouldn't punch a guy who called your mom, or someone close to you, a whore? We have to know exactly all those things that provoked Jeremy to punch this guy instead of rushing to a quick and inaccurate judgement.
I really wouldn't. Or at least not now that I'm an adult and have gotten over my teenage anger issues. I may very well tell someone off for name calling or have someone fired but I would not intervene physically unless they either started with physical violence or were doing something to make someone I cared about feel physically in danger (for instance got right in their face/backed them into a corner).
The refrigerator thing would definitely deserve being yelled at, don't you think? Employees have been fired for lesser offences.
It still wouldn't justify a 20 minute screaming tantrum that disrupted the entire hotel. A proportionate response would be to demand the food be heated or file a complaint. A proportionate response could even be to have someone fired (if it were negligent or malicious)
It had 350 million viewers worldwide, the worlds biggest factual program. And a lot of them are viewers because it wasn't that nasty twatty politically correct think where everything is great and all cars are great, and everyone is perfect and twee.
So you won't miss him, but then 350 million people don't want to watch you.
Yes, you must, but I'm not sure why. I've heard of those three. Ferrara is an actor who has appeared in one movie of note. Foust is a race car driver of little note, and Wood is a guy that is on Top Gear US. Their attempts to mimic the UK capers fall flat, they had guests on for maybe a season before the guest starts realized it wasn't worth it, even for two bit reality show idiots. The shows are week after week of station wagons and SUVs. I still watch it, but it has nothing on the original.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
It was the straw that broke the camels back, only the other straw was fake mock outrage straw.
Face it, he was targeted by the press, because the show had gotten insanely popular. It was more to do with the twats who think everything needs to be politically correct to their way of thinking, than anything Clarkson did.
The BBC is not to blame, they have the 'BBC Trust' above them, and that is a political body not a management body, and they are responsible for a corporations that wastes billions making only a few hits. Top Gear was their big hit and surprisingly BBC Trust will be very happy about its demise, because they are put in there to run the Beeb into the ground, then kill the license fee.
I have nothing but contempt for that arsehole. Hopefully he'll be on Sky where I'll never see him.; wth the added bonus that my TV licence is no lining his pockets. Farewell, you ignorant bully.
I think you either hated Clarkson or loved him. But he did make the show and frankly while I cannot disagree with the BBC's decision because their hands were tied on what action to take because it was physical. I think the end looser will be the BBC. Because we all know Jeremy Clarkson will come out in good shape.
Maybe it was just time for Clarkson to move on anyway. The BBC seemed to be a thorn in his side becoming to politically correct and not being amused at his sometimes brash comments. The question will be can the BBC manage to keep Hammond and May doing Top Gear and who if anyone will try and replace Clarkson? I will miss the three's connection on screen with each other. But at least we had 22 seasons of Top Gear fun! That's really a big success story.
Anyone who has been bullied at work must be sickened by the public support for Jeremy Clarkson. Even in sacking him for the physical assault on Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon, BBC director general Tony Hall seemed almost apologetic, taking the opportunity to thank Clarkson for his work on Top Gear and wishing him the best for the future.
But if you've experienced bullying first hand then you know what a destructive force the Clarksons of the world are. Your workplace becomes a place of dread and fear. The stress becomes not just a part of your daily life, but a part of who you are as a person. It changes you.
My own experience of being bullied began when I took a job with a company that had just promoted a long-standing employee in to a management position. He had no experience of managing people, he received no training, and he openly said that he didn't want the job. He was visibly stressed almost constantly, and resented that he was still expected to work and not just manage other people's work.
Very early in the job I was shouted at in the middle of a busy office for completing a task that should have been cancelled. It was a foul-mouthed and very personal tirade of abuse, accusing me of being untrustworthy, and came totally out of the blue. Then my manager realised that he had forgotten to mark the task as cancelled, and quietly in a private room away from other staff, he apologised and promised never to speak to me like that in front of people again.
The details of bullying incidents are generally repetitive and boring, so suffice to say, this was just the beginning of what became regular abuse: Shouted at in the middle of the office for things I had allegedly done wrong, and then apologised to in private.
I put up with the abuse for way too long. I'd spoken to my union rep and kept a bullying diary as advised, but I never started a grievance procedure. Colleagues said I should, and one day I ended up talking to the company secretary about it, but I backed off, determined to resolve the issue myself. Ultimately, I told myself, this is a case of two grown men having a clash of personalities, and I should be able to resolve it. But of course I couldn't.
After about a year I had to take time off work for an unconnected health reason, which seemed to go on a lot longer than one might expect. After a week back at work, I was off again with flu, which seemed to go on forever. My doctor was puzzled and I was sent to the hospital for tests. But in conversation with my doctor one time I mentioned about how it was actually quite nice to be off work because it was an escape from the bullying, and it was as if I'd said the magic word. My doctor was certain that the stress of being bullied was the root cause of my poor health. It explained everything. It turns out that a year of sleepless nights and constant anxiety isn't very good for you.
The BBC has done the right thing in sacking Clarkson. When I finally had to take formal action against my manager, the company was combative, and handled it on the basis that I was making it all up. I opted for the least "official" form of grievance, third-party arbitration, and my manager held his hands up to what he'd been doing and promised to change. Whether he could or not, I don't know, as I've not been well enough to return to work yet.
I've watched every episode of Top Gear since Clarkson joined the programme. I like him as a presenter. But I see him now for what he really is: A person who knows how to present himself to the people who control his career -- his bosses and the viewers -- but feels he can abuse the people below him. No doubt he will now be snapped up by another TV channel, or Netflix, and he'll continue to make great programmes that entertain millions. But we know now what he's like behind the scenes, and even a bully that knows he's a bully will still be a bully.
No I am pretty sure they make more money off Top Gear being a worldwide success then they do off the British TV tax.
You're "pretty sure" are you? You know these sort of mindless random thoughts stated as fact is pretty fucking harmful.
Top Gear worth per year, about £50million
Licence fee collected last year, £3726million
Get a grip.
The new show, on a new channel, will be either called "Jeremy Clarkson's Top Gear" or something meta-descriptive like "New Best Car Show"
May's own documentariea are quite enjoyable. I like his Toy Stories and Man Lab. Cars of the People was good too.
Dropping something from Comcast? Good luck with that.
Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
I'm not sure Clarkson 'made the show' like he thinks he did
Considering Clarkson developed the present format of Top Gear AFTER they had cancelled it due to weak ratings, hen single-handedly pitched and sold the concept to the BBC, created the character of "The Stig" (originally to be called The Git -- since race car drivers are all gits) and brought in Hammond and May and is the central host, key figure and driving personality behind Top Gear... YES Clarkson did quite literally and figuratively 'make the show'.
It had run it's course anyway. It had gotten too formulaic, especially with the gaffs and accidents and whatnot.
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Because learning from your mistakes is such a bad thing. Idiot.
That is all.
I'm not really read up on what he did that time.
At first when it happened I saw some other speculation. Supposedly he hasn't been acting the way people may want / politically correct on multiple occasions but whatever.
To physically hurt people of course isn't ok.
(Well, maybe not mentally either, but there got to be limits on how much to care too.)
It seems whenever any of them tested an American Muscle car, especially the Mustangs, the entire segment consists of them squealing with pleasure, having a great time and then exiting with great big shit eating grins.
Then, they get all serious and start whining about the lack of leather dashes and computer controlled, all wheel drive with predictive Fuck Up Mitigators. Oh, and comparing them to Euroweenie cars that cost twice as much.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
I saw that one. It was a Shelby GT 500.
He whined about the small gas tank and complained about the engine noise. While he was driving he was making fun of the various information options, etc. It was non-stop snark. When he was on the Ferry across the channel, people flocked to the car and he just stood there wondering why.
I don't know how much of it was just for the show or if he really feels that way.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Maybe Jezza finally did go too far, but the Beeb (and BBC America) will deeply rue this decision financially, and the 'victim' will go down in history being about as popular as this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bartman_incident
Some say he punched an innocent person in the mouth-
others say he's the cash cow of the BBC-
But we just know him as... unemployed.
-WolfWithoutAClause
"Gravity is only a theory, not a fact!"clarkson has made a career out of being a dinosaur, and i think he knows it.
you're welcome in the real world jeremy and i, for one, am interested to see what you will make of your new life.
I have an idea. Fire that arrogant asshole producer instead. Who needs him? Jeremy Clarkson IS the show. How did the Chappelle Show do after Dave left? It was a catastrophe.
"Watch as James May enjoys the sublime quietude of a Silver Shadow."
The best outcome for everyone (but the BBC) is for all three hosts to go to another network and set up shop there. Call the new show anyhthing you like. The magic of Top Gear lies in the hosts, not the network. And Lord Knows, not the BBC.
Top Gear is the most popular TV show in history, with over 350 million viewers worldwide. There is no way in hell the show will fade away. Or the cast. There is no way Clarkson can be replaced, successfully. Fair or not, many viewers would see May and Hammond as traitors. The two will quickly realize they would be insane to stay, especially given their other (much more lucrative) options. So they will go too, probably to rejoin Clarkson at a network of their choosing, where they have *much* better support and artistic freedom. And hot food.
Clarkson was paid a measly $1.5M/year by the BBC. He can make more money per *episode* at a real network. It's plain from his recent shenanigans that Clarkson has been eager to rewrite his contract with the BBC for some time now. The only question is how soon Hammond and May follow Clarkson's example and head for greener pastures.
Bet on it.
Top Gear was enormous fun at first, but it's gotten stale. It's lost its way. Maybe it is time for a re-think.
Like just about everybody, my picks for a new co-host include Sabine Schmitz and Vicki Butler-Henderson. But they have to look very carefully at the show and decide if its worth continuing first. I'm not convinced it is.
The original Top Gear production morphed in to Fifth Gear, which is definitely jazzed up fro the old Top Gear it started as.
...laura
From what I gathered the show was making 300 million a year annually and they were paying him 1 million a year annually.
That's an absurd ratio. You're not going to see anything like that in commercial television.
Clarkson is going to be able to walk into any commercial outfit and get a comparable deal sight unseen.
I'd personally take a loan out for a million dollars and pay him a year's salary up front knowing that I could get a lot more than a million dollars for him.
The BBC is apparently run by idiots.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
I hate how the media is spinning this, that because 1 million people or whatever want someone back in a TV show, a TV star should somehow be above the set of laws and expected normal social behavior that the rest of us have to deal with. When someone starts hitting co-workers over the lack of warm food, they should get severely reprimanded - why is this even a discussion. The answer is of course because - and I will put this in tabloid terms because that is the only thing that seems to get across these days - of the way media works this day, how everyone now has a voice through the Internet, and the few voices of common sense gets drowned by moronic opinions of idiots. Why should you care about the opinion of a labour law expert when for each such expert ten thousand average Joe's and Jane's have touchy feely opinions that tell them something different.
The behavior in question seems to be some type of inflated ego syndrome, that people get so full of their own success that they feel petty stuff like following rules and being civil to one another is beneath them, that such things apply only to other people (which by the way includes their fan base). It is always sad to see how someone sympathetic get famous, then are starstruck by themselves, and shortly after enter a downward spiral and discover their dark side.
It is even sadder to watch the fan base. If the average fan turned away from this type of behavior and actually stopped watching a show for a period if the host has done something particularly offensive, that would send a clear message. Instead the shows probably get higher ratings because of the extra attention.
Well, he is known somewhat in Rally, which I will concede, but he is most known for X games and Drifting, which other people may consider racing, but I don't.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
even I think American Top Gear is weak sauce.
Now Aussie Top Gear, that's alright, mate.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
(scene) We are on a deserted airplane runway in Iceland
A car races by - with The Stig in it.
It pulls up to a shiny outdoor hot springs.
Another car races by.
It has a dark complexioned youth driving it. He's dressed in tweed and wears glasses. Thin Brit style. He gets out.
A third car races by.
It has a young short guy in it. He's done up for a footy game. He gets out.
A fourth car races by.
It opens, and the words Top Gear: Mark II appear.
It's a young British woman of mixed Asian descent.
The crowd goes wild.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
For taking one for the team. He single handedly managed to do what India, Argentina, Mexico, the British Labour party couldn't.
And all he had to do was be incompetent at his job - his job, quite simply is to get the best from the show.
Congratulations Oison.
Or should it be Judas ?
Seriously, I'm torn - I love the show, but obviously the BBC had to fire him. I'm hoping that the boys take their antics to a new channel where they have more freedom to give the viewers the show they want - not what the BBC allows them to do in its pitifully correct public broadcaster role. I don't think that would be ITV or even Sky.
I'd really like to see them move to Netflix - they have the money and "freedom" to do what they want with less political climate since its not a broadcaster in the traditional sense (public service requirements).
It might also be an interesting avenue for the the intellectual challenge of "can we do this"... Its never too late to do a start-up...
He wasn't formerly let go until yesterday however. That's when the BBC declined to renew Jeremy's contract.
Ask a thousand random people who Tanner Foust is. If anything, they'll say "Top Gear host?"; they will be unaware of any of his championships. The areas in which he races are relatively unknown to most people -- hell, most motor sports are; the drivers in those series are even less known.
Two hours on the phone, only to find out you got billed for it three more months. Yeah, that is more likely.
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
The refrigerator thing would definitely deserve being yelled at, don't you think? Employees have been fired for lesser offences.
It still wouldn't justify a 20 minute screaming tantrum that disrupted the entire hotel.
You're assuming that there were not earlier events which led to this event, and also that the producer didn't say anything to exacerbate the situation.
Look, violence is not a wonderful answer to something other than violence or impending violence, but the anti-Clarkson force seems to believe that he just got the wind up his arse and started throwing fists. But since none of us were party to the conversation, and none of us know what was said, none of us knows how unreasonable violence was as a response.
As someone who was bullied in almost every possible way in school, including a whole lot of verbal abuse, I know that verbal abuse can be as painful as the physical kind. In fact, studies have shown that emotional abuse actually causes physical pain responses in the nervous system. That's right, words literally hurt. If the BBC were as progressive as they'll have you believe, they'd fire people for saying mean things to other people. And then it might well have been the producer who was out of a job, before he even got a chance to eat a fist.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Consider the source:
A UK tabloid (which is in direct competition with a tabloid that Clarkson writes for) is quoting one of its ex-editors (who was involved in stock market pump/dump shenanigans and phone hacking) who has an on-going feud with Clarkson (over invasion-of-privacy by Morgan's tabloid, at his direct orders) which resulted in Clarkson punching him (to general applause).
Morgan, having been sacked from his gigs in the UK, moved to the USA and been sacked there, is now trying to rehabilitate himself back in the UK by sitting in for a breakfast TV host next month.
I wouldn't trust this man to tell me the time...
This sig left unintentionally blank.
I like the show and think getting rid of him is a bad thing, but don't let him get away with it either.
How about requiring him to take a punch to the face as his punishment? they could auction it off and make a fortune!
Just a thought...
AB HOC POSSUM VIDERE DOMUM TUUM
No I am pretty sure they make more money off Top Gear being a worldwide success then they do off the British TV tax.
You're "pretty sure" are you? You know these sort of mindless random thoughts stated as fact is pretty fucking harmful.
Top Gear worth per year, about £50million
Licence fee collected last year, £3726million
Get a grip.
Actually Top Gear makes about US$225 Million for BBC Worldwide (which gets funnelled back into the BBC as they're the only shareholder). That's about £150 million or 10% of what BBC worldwide makes. Out of the £5 Billion the BBC makes, it's about 3%. If 3% of your budget goes missing, you're going to notice. In a year, without the hosts the Top Gear brand will be next to worthless and just about anyone could pick it up for 45p.
But how this is really going to hurt the BBC is when they go to renegotiate their other contracts. Because they've messed around with the delivery of the last few episodes of Top Gear they've lost faith with other networks. Even extremely popular shows like Doctor Who and Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars) will be affected, less popular shows like Antiques Roadshow will be decimated.
I think Danny Cohen is going to be out of a job in 12 months or so.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
Good riddance. The show was a throwback to mentality that humanity should have left for dead with the 70s oil crisis.
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
Isn't that revenue though? Loss of revenue doesn't really count since if you're not making the programme anymore then you won't be spending it, so profit is the thing they will lose.
Good point about screwing with the delivery, though I would assume that the BBC is big enough and has a solid enough reputation that this would be a 'blip' rather than a noticable loss of confidence.
Good point about screwing with the delivery, though I would assume that the BBC is big enough and has a solid enough reputation that this would be a 'blip' rather than a noticable loss of confidence.
You're forgetting that Top Gear is the most popular television program... in the world. It's rather on the same scale as mismanagement of the Superb Owl.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The man is a homosexual
What the fuck has that got to do with it?
You're fucking weird, you are.
Sorry but you are projecting. By all accounts Clarkson was the one spewing verbal abuse. Clarkson knew he was out of line after the indecent and tried to apologize . Here it is from the BBC report "It was not disputed by Jeremy Clarkson or any witness that Oisin Tymon was the victim of an unprovoked physical and verbal attack"
I love Jeremy Clarkson's work on Top Gear but he was really out of line and I really don't see what other option the BBC had but to let him go.
They left the little one on the top of some Canadian mountain in the recent show I saw. What's the problem ?
Come on !
$20 US says he'll be back on the telly within 60 days
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.