It seems a helmet-wearing tank-driver armed with a petition signed by more than one million fans will not be enough to save Jeremy Clarkson.
The BBC is set to sack the wildly popular television presenter after a review found he punched a producer of his hit motoring program “Top Gear,” the Telegraph reported.
An internal investigation into what the British broadcaster described as a “fracas” found that the presenter verbally abused producer Oisin Tymon for 20 minutes before physically assaulting him in an attack that lasted 30 seconds, the paper said.
The altercation is widely reported to have occurred at a hotel in North Yorkshire after a day of filming. Clarkson is said to have launched a tirade after being told that the hotel’s kitchen was closed for hot food.
On March 10, the BBC announced he’d been suspended pending an internal investigation and that the next episode, which was meant to air five days later, had been pulled.
On Monday, the broadcaster canceled four live “Top Gear” shows scheduled for next week in Stavenger, Norway. However, it said the programs would be rescheduled and that all other live dates would “run as scheduled.”
Calls to ‘Save Clarkson’
Fans have expressed outrage at the BBC decision to suspend Clarkson. An online petition to have him reinstated has been signed by more than one million people. In comparison, fewer than 10,000 people have signed a counter-petition calling for him to be fired.
Last week, a fan dressed as the “Stig” — the anonymous racing car test-driver who was once a regular feature of the show — drove to the BBC’s London headquarters in an armored tank to present the “Bring Back Clarkson” petition.
Clarkson later thanked his supporters in a tweet shared more than 22,000 times.
According to the BBC website, Clarkson is credited with changing the face of modern motoring journalism. It also adds: “Terrifyingly, he might just be the most influential man in motoring.”
Clarkson has been at the helm of the program since 1998, and for more than a decade has fronted the relaunched version with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May. The trio’s long-distance challenges in a mix of elite and sometimes barely roadworthy vehicles has earned the program cult-status.
In 2013, Guinness World Records named “Top Gear” the world’s most widely watched factual program, with an estimated 350 million global viewers. The show is sold to 214 territories worldwide. Local versions have been made in the U.S., China, Russia, Australia and South Korea.
Offensive comments
While Clarkson’s abrasive style has proven popular with viewers, his on and off air comments have earned him a reputation as a politically incorrect maverick who often walks a fine line between humor and offense.
Last year, he apologized profusely after being accused of mumbling the n-word in a clip that wasn’t aired.
“I’d actually used the word I was trying to obscure. I was mortified by this, horrified. It is a word I loathe,” Clarkson said in video statement posted online.
He’s been accused of other instances of alleged racism, including characterizing Mexicans as “lazy and feckless” and using the word “slope” over footage of an Asian man crossing a bridge during a Top Gear special in Myanmar. Producer Andy Wilman later apologized, calling it a “light-hearted word play joke,” and saying that the team was not aware that it was offensive to Asians.
Last week, Clarkson launched into an expletive-filled rant at charity auction in north London, verbally attacking his BBC bosses. A CNN reporter who was at the event said Clarkson swore liberally as he talked about his suspension from the show, saying the BBC had “f***** themselves” and had ruined a great show.
Clarkson later brushed off the incident and said the the rant was meant “in jest” and was designed to increase bids for the prize being auctioned — one last lap of the “Top Gear” race track.