14 DAY TRIAL // Jeremy Clarkson is skating on very thin ice and will continue to do so until his “inevitable” sacking from the BBC, after another racial scandal broke out last week and viewers have angrily petitioned for his removal from the network.
Clarkson is known for his controversial statements, but it seems that this time he might have gone overboard and the final blow to his already crumbling position at the BBC has been dealt. The entire thing started when The Mirror published a video of Clarkson in an unaired taping of Top Gear from years ago, in which he mutters the N-word while reciting an old nursery rhyme.
In his weekly column in The Sun, Jeremy has now confessed that the video apology he gave last week was given only at the BBC's insistence and was not done by his choice or that of his legal team. He also added that “I've been told by the BBC that if I make one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time, I will be sacked.”
In his true style, Jeremy found the power to make fun of his current situation, “And even the angel Gabriel would struggle to survive with that hanging over his head. It's inevitable that one day, someone, somewhere will say that I've offended them, and that will be that.”
But that doesn't change the sad reality that Clarkson is indeed one scandal away from getting the boot and leaving the automotive entertainment show that he's headed for well over twenty years and that has become the most beloved TV series of this type in the world today, and which has spawned numerous similar shows in countries all over the world.
It must be mentioned that the footage the Mirror obtained was never aired on television, since there were numerous takes recorded at the time. In the version that made it on the air, Jeremy can be heard replacing the N-word in the rhyme with the word “teacher.”
Even in the other versions, the racial slur can't be heard outright, because Jeremy tries his best to mumble the offensive part under his breath. However, the Mirror have called in a team of forensic investigators who have confirmed that the N-word is used in that sentence.
Reactions from the public have been mixed: many have asked for the prompt firing of Jeremy Clarkson who has made some controversial remarks in the past, while others pleaded for lenience, citing that political correctness was turning many people into blind zealots.
Through all of this, Clarkson has maintained that he never uses the word on a regular basis and that he never intended to offend anyone with its use. People of the same age as him recalled that the rhyme he used was popular when they were growing up and pointed out that it wasn't considered to be racial at the time.