Top Gear controversies
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The British motoring-themed television programme ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' was often the focus of criticism. The criticism has ranged from minor viewer complaints to serious complaints where broadcasting watchdogs such as Ofcom have been involved. The show is frequently criticised for showing disdain to the environment and for promoting dangerous driving to the public.


Clarkson's criticism

One of the programme's presenters,
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
, has been critical of the BBC regarding the handling of the programme. In the February 2006 issue of ''
Top Gear Magazine ''Top Gear'' is a British automobile magazine, owned by BBC Worldwide, and published under contract by Immediate Media Company. It is named after the BBC's ''Top Gear'' television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published ...
'', Clarkson revealed that he thought that the BBC did not take ''Top Gear'' seriously, making the length of the series far too long, and often replacing the show with live snooker coverage, despite ''Top Gear'' having considerably higher viewing figures. In July 2006, the BBC rejected a variety of complaints regarding the criticism, claiming the producers and presenters choose the way they are covered, and that the BBC do not have any control over it. They argued that the presenters' provocative comments are "an integral part of the programme and are not intended to be taken seriously." Regarding offensive remarks traded between presenters and members of the audience, the BBC said "this is part of the appeal of the show, and we trust most viewers are familiar enough with the style and tone of the show not to take offence." The BBC pointed out that they would act if such statements and actions were carried out with any degree of seriousness or if the programme breached legal and safety requirements.


Studio move

''Top Gear'' was in negotiations with the BBC to move to
Enstone Enstone is a village and civil parish in England, about east of Chipping Norton and north-west of Oxford city. The civil parish, one of Oxfordshire's largest, consists of the villages of Church Enstone and Neat Enstone, with the hamlets of Cha ...
in north Oxfordshire which was closer to Clarkson's home in
Chipping Norton Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...
. However, the producers were unable to negotiate a deal, after their initial application was blocked due to opposition by local residents, who feared that ''Top Gear'' would create pollution and noise issues.


Accusations of homophobia

In December 2006, the BBC upheld complaints from four viewers after comments made by
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
were considered to be
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
references, had the potential to offend and should not have been broadcast. The complaints regarded comments made by Clarkson in the sixth episode of series eight, in which Clarkson agreed with an audience member who described the
Daihatsu Copen The is a 2-door convertible kei car built by the Japanese car company Daihatsu. It debuted at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show, as the Daihatsu Copen concept. The second generation model debuted as the Kopen (Future Included) at the 2013 Tokyo Motor S ...
as "a bit gay". He later described the vehicle as "ginger beer", taken to be rhyming slang for the term " queer". The BBC said there was "no editorial purpose" for the remarks and the "''Top Gear'' team had been reminded of the importance of avoiding such comments about sexual orientation." In December 2009, it was reported that a gay couple had been allegedly denied tickets to see the show being filmed. The context of the situation is unclear. A BBC spokesperson said, "We do not – absolutely do not – discriminate against same sex couples... the whole implication that ''Top Gear'' is in any way homophobic is completely wrong." The singer George Michael branded Clarkson "pig-ugly" and "homophobic" after in a review of the Jaguar XKR-S he said it "will get its tail out more readily than George Michael".


Cultural mockery


India

During the show's India special, there were multiple gags such as building a toilet in the back of a Jaguar as every visiting tourist gets diarrhoea. This led to a complaint by the Indian High Commission which criticised the show's "toilet humour".


Wales

The show received backlash when Clarkson suggested that everybody should test drive their cars in Wales because "no-one wants to live there" in the second episode of season one.


USA

The show frequently mocks American culture, cars and people on the show. During the first American road trip as part of a challenge they painted slogans on their cars such as "NASCAR sucks", "Hilary for president" and "Man love rules OK" while driving through Alabama. During a fuel stop they were confronted by "rednecks", who were offended by the slogans causing the crew and presenters to flee, concerned for their safety.


Germany

During the first episode of series seven, a news segment featuring BMW's
Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
concept from the
Tokyo Motor Show The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show ...
showcased a car that Hammond quoted as supposedly being "quintessentially British", the only added feature being an integrated
tea set Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics and ...
. Clarkson responded by mocking the car and saying that they should retaliate by building a car that was "quintessentially German". He suggested adding
trafficators Trafficators are semaphore signals which, when operated, protrude from the bodywork of a motor vehicle to indicate its intention to turn in the direction indicated by the pointing signal. Trafficators are often located at the door pillar. Histo ...
that displayed
Hitler salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. T ...
s, "a sat-nav that only goes to Poland", and "ein fanbelt that will last a thousand years", a reference to
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's propaganda slogan of "the thousand-year
Reich ''Reich'' (; ) is a German noun whose meaning is analogous to the meaning of the English word "realm"; this is not to be confused with the German adjective "reich" which means "rich". The terms ' (literally the "realm of an emperor") and ' (lit ...
". These statements gained negative attention from the German government, and led to viewers' complaints reaching the BBC Board of Governors. In July 2006, the BBC
Governors A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
’ Programme Complaints Committee rejected the protests: "the Committee did not believe that, when looking at the audience as a whole, they would have felt that the comments were anything more than Jeremy Clarkson using outrageous behaviour to amuse his audience, and that the remarks would not have led to anyone entertaining new or different feelings or concerns about Germans or Germany".


Romania

During the opening episode of series 14, the presenters were seen taking the Aston Martin DBS Volante,
Ferrari California The Ferrari California (Type F149) is a grand touring, high performance sports car created by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. It is a two-door 2+2 hard top convertible. When originally unveiled in 2008, the California was powered by ...
and Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder on a road trip to
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
. While driving through the Romanian countryside, Clarkson commented on Romania as being "''
Borat ''Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan'' ( Kazakh / Russian: ''Борат'') (also stylized as ''BORДT'', or simply ''Borat'') is a 2006 mockumentary black comedy film directed by Larry Charle ...
'' country, with
gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
and Russian playboys", referring to the 2006
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
starring
Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
about the fictional journalist from
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, which had filmed a few scenes in Romania. The film had already stirred controversy in the country, with a number of local
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
who were involved in the film attempting to sue
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
and Cohen. Romanian newspapers claimed that the comments were "offensive" and "bad publicity for their country". The ''Romanian Times'' also reported that Clarkson called Romania a "
gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
land". Complaints were also rife regarding Clarkson's actions to don a
pork pie hat A pork pie hat is one of several different styles of hat that have been popular since the mid-19th century. It features a flat crown that resembles a traditional pork pie. Buster Keaton and the 1920s The pork pie began to appear in Britain ...
which he called a "gypsy" hat, while commenting: "I'm wearing this hat so the gypsies think I am nother gypsy" The Romanian ambassador later sent a letter to the producers of ''Top Gear'', in which he showed his appreciation for the show, highlighted the press's
freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
, the non-discriminatory spirit, and the fact that 89.5% of the country's population is Romanian, 6.5% is ethnic Hungarians, 2.5% are ethnic Roma and 1.5% are other ethnic groups. He also asked for the show to be re-edited for future showings to exclude the offensive material. The '' Daily Telegraph'' was hacked by a group of Romanians, who stated, "We are sick of being mis-represented as Gypsies, and thanks to ''Top Gear'', have been publicly insulted". The group took over two pages of the website, covering them in Romanian flags and playing "Lonely Shepherd" by
Gheorghe Zamfir Gheorghe Zamfir (; born April 6, 1941) is a Romanian nai (pan flute) musician. Zamfir is known for playing an expanded version of normally 20-pipe nai, with 22, 25, 28 or even 30 pipes, to increase its range, and obtaining as many as eight ov ...
(featured on the soundtrack from the film ''
Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment ...
'').


Mexico

During the second episode of series 16, the presenters mocked the Mexican
Mastretta MXT The Mastretta MXT is an automobile produced by the Mexican car manufacturer Mastretta. It is the first car that Mastretta has designed without any foreign input. The ''MXT'' is based loosely on the Lotus Elise and the Audi R8. The ''MXT'' entered ...
sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
on account of it being designed in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. James May introduced the car as "The
Tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of M ...
", then remarked that he did not remember what it was called. Hammond then stated: "Cars reflect national characteristics ..a Mexican car's just going to be a lazy, feckless,
flatulent Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...
oaf with a moustache, leaning against a fence asleep, looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat". This was followed up by James May suggesting that all Mexican food resembles " refried sick" and "sick with cheese on it", Richard Hammond remarking, "I'm sorry, but just imagine waking up and remembering you're Mexican" and Jeremy Clarkson adding, "It'd be brilliant because you could just go straight back to sleep again!" Clarkson ended the segment by suggesting that the Mexican ambassador to Britain would be too lazy to make any kind of complaint. This prompted the Mexican ambassador,
Eduardo Medina Mora Eduardo Tomás Medina-Mora Icaza (Mexico City; 30 January 1957) is a Mexican lawyer. He served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Mexico from 10 March 2015 to 8 October 2019, when the Mexican Senate approved his resignation following an ongo ...
, to write to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
: "The presenters of the program resorted to outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults to stir bigoted feelings against the Mexican people, their culture as well as their official representative in the United Kingdom. These offensive,
xenophobic Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
and humiliating remarks only serve to reinforce negative
stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
and perpetuate
prejudice Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
against Mexico and its people".
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
issued a letter defending the jokes, stating that national stereotyping was a part of
British humour British humour carries a strong element of satire aimed at the absurdity of everyday life. Common themes include sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek, banter, insults, self-deprecation, taboo subjects, puns, innuendo, wit, and the British class syste ...
, but apologizing to the Mexican ambassador for the remarks made about him personally. The episode had the Mexican comments cut from its broadcast in the United States. Comedian Steve Coogan, who has appeared on the show three times, criticised the programme for its pitiful apology, suggesting that the usual defence of "a bit of a laugh", or "harmless fun" was no longer appropriate, that the insults had gone too far, and described the comments as "as funny as a cold sweat followed by shooting pains down the left arm". He also criticised the show for what he described as lazy, adolescent humour and "casual racism" in reference specifically to this episode.
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editor, Richard Evans, described the programme's conduct as another " Sachsgate waiting to happen". However, Mastretta appeared to brush off the insults, with general director Carlos Mastretta clarifying that the car was simply used as a pretext for the jokes, and that the controversy has increased interest in the MXT. The presenters made repeated reference to the incident in the following episodes of the series: The set of the 41st series of '' Have I Got News for You'', which depicts various recent news stories, includes a mocked-up image of Clarkson dressed like a Mexican in reference to the controversy. Further reference to the incident was made in the India special, where Hammond "accidentally" painted a
Mexican flag The national flag of Mexico ( es, Bandera de México) is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and red with the national coat of arms charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meaning of the colors has changed over time, these thre ...
on his car after he intended to paint an Indian one. The incident was made reference to yet again in the second episode of series 19, in which the presenters had to race three high-performance cars from
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
to the Mexican border, where the last person to arrive would have to do a review of the MXT in an upcoming episode, which aired as part of the fourth episode of series 19. However the UK broadcast regulator Ofcom cleared the programme due to its "comedic intent and the context":
In this case, Ofcom took into account that ''Top Gear'' is well known for its irreverent style and sometimes outspoken humour, as well as the regular format of the studio banter between the three presenters. We considered that viewers of ''Top Gear'' were likely to be aware that the programme frequently uses national stereotypes as a comedic trope and that there were few, if any, nationalities that had not at some point been the subject of the presenters' mockery throughout the history of this long running programme. For example, this same episode featured a competition between the UK’s ''Top Gear'' presenters and their Australian counterparts, throughout which the Australians were ridiculed for various national traits. In this instance, therefore, Ofcom considered that the majority of the audience would be familiar with the presenters' approach to mocking, playground-style humour, and would have considered that applying that approach to national stereotypes was in keeping with the programme’s usual content, and the presenters' typical style. Ofcom was of the view that the majority of the audience would therefore be likely to have understood that the comments were being made for comic effect.


Argentina

In September and October 2014, the three presenters and a crew of 29 people were recording the '' Patagonia Special'' in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, featuring three cars—a Porsche 928 GT, a
Lotus Esprit The Lotus Esprit is a British sports car that was built by Lotus Cars at their Hethel factory in England between 1976 and 2004. It was among the first of designer Giorgetto Giugiaro's polygonal "folded paper" designs. Background In 1970 Tony ...
and a Ford Mustang Mach I. They had started in
Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park ...
on 19 September and travelled southward on the trans-Patagonian
Route 40 The following highways are numbered 40: International * European route E40 Argentina * National Route 40 Australia * NSW State Route 40 (Windsor Road and Victoria Road in Sydney) * Victorian State Route 40 * Mulligan Highway (Queensland) Br ...
, about . On 2 October they had arrived in
Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's souther ...
, at the southern end of
Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...
. The plan was to film for three more days, and then to continue in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. During filming, Twitter comments began to appear alleging the
number plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificatio ...
"H982 FKL" on the Porsche was a reference to the 1982 Falklands War. Andy Wilman, executive producer for the show, said on 2 October: "''Top Gear'' production purchased three cars for a forthcoming programme; to suggest that this car was either chosen for its number plate, or that an alternative number plate was substituted for the original is completely untrue"; Clarkson tweeted: "For once, we did nothing wrong". "H982 FKL" has been registered to the Porsche since its manufacture in May 1991. In the evening, veterans and other Argentinians entered the hotel lobby to confront the team. Clarkson later wrote he "had to hide under a bed for a mob howling for his blood". Local police then told the team they could not and would not give them any assistance, and in the hostile atmosphere the team decided to leave Argentina. Believing that the presenters were the main targets of the controversy, the crew decided to send Clarkson, May, Hammond and the women from the crew to
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, while the rest would drive the cars and their equipment to the border into Chile. May later stated that, prior to flying back to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, he and the other presenters had assisted in planning possible airlifts if the journey to the border became too dangerous. The main Route 3 by which they had arrived in Rio Grande a day earlier, was closed to them because the ringway was filled with people, with "the mayor in front". They drove to the border at Radman by tertiary roads, about . In
Tolhuin Tolhuin is a town in the province of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. It has 2,949 inhabitants as per the . It is located on the eastern shore of Lake Fagnano, in the southern part of the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. It is the third largest settlem ...
, after , the convoy was stopped by an intimidating crowd, who threw eggs, rocks, and sticks. The team decided to abandon the three show cars, and reached the border with Chile later that night. At 2 a.m., they had to find a tractor to ford the camera cars through the river border. Pictures show that the abandoned cars had been attacked and damaged with stones. The Porsche now with the number plate "H1 VAE". However, over the years various humorous number plate changes had been made, for example referring to James May's age. Also alternative number plates with the letters BE11 END for 'Bell End' were reportedly also discovered in the abandoned Porsche by the Argentinian authorities. Additionally the original dealer has stated that the production team were aware of the registration plate history before purchase. On 31 October 2014, it was announced that the Argentine ambassador Alicia Castro met BBC Director of Television Danny Cohen to demand a formal apology, but the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
refused to do so, making it clear that they intended to broadcast the special as a fair representation of the events that occurred. The Christmas Special, split into two parts, aired on 27 and 28 December 2014.


Tesla Roadster review

During episode seven of
series 12 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...
, Clarkson presented a segment featuring the Tesla Roadster, including a test drive. The segment showed the car's provided batteries running flat after , with Clarkson claiming that the recharge would take 16 hours. Following this, he claimed that the car then broke down. A
Tesla Motors Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to grid- ...
spokesperson stated that the cars provided never reached less than 20% charge, none needed to be pushed off the track at any point, the recharge time was 3.5 hours, and the brake failure shown in the segment was actually a blown fuse. The BBC responded to these claims with a statement saying, "The tested Tesla was filmed being pushed into the shed in order to show what would happen if the Roadster had run out of charge. ''Top Gear'' stands by the findings in this film and is content that it offers a fair representation of the Tesla's performance on the day it was tested", without addressing the other concerns. The comments were made following Clarkson showing a limp windmill, and complaining that it would take countless hours to recharge the car, using such a source of electricity. A BBC spokeswoman said several times in an interview that ''Top Gear'' was "an entertainment programme, and should not be taken seriously." After several weeks, Clarkson wrote a blog for ''The Times'', acknowledging that "the film we had shot was a bit of a mess", but defending the film's claims.
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...
, CEO of Tesla, wrote in a blog on 13 February 2013 that while delivering the vehicle the Tesla team found on a table a prepared script for the segment, demonstrating this was never a fair test. In March 2011 Tesla Motors filed a suit accusing the BBC of libel. In court Tesla Motors lost a major part of its high court libel claim on 19 October 2011. Justice Tugendhat said that no ''Top Gear'' viewer would have reasonably compared the car's performance on the show's airfield track to its likely performance on a public road. On 28 October 2011 the carmaker looked set to lose the remaining malicious falsehood claim, Justice Tugendhat saying "I shall strike out the claim in this action unless the plea of damage is amended by agreement between the parties, or with the permission of the court." Tesla's court action was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in 2013.


Dismissal of Jeremy Clarkson from ''Top Gear''

In March 2015, the BBC announced Jeremy Clarkson had been suspended for allegedly punching a producer over a confrontation regarding cold food and long filming hours, and that the remaining episodes of the series would not be broadcast. In response to this, over 1,000,000 people signed an online petition to try to get the BBC to reinstate Clarkson.
Perry McCarthy Perry McCarthy (born 3 March 1961) is a British racing driver, who drove for the Andrea Moda team in Formula One in , though never making it into a race, before moving into sportscars, including driving in the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times ...
, a former Stig, criticised the BBC's decision to pull the next episode from the schedule. On 25 March, the BBC announced that they would not renew Clarkson's contract which finished at the end of March 2015. Following the official decision, James May and Richard Hammond presented their resignation to the BBC in solidarity with their partner and in order to pursue further ventures together. This would lead to the formation of
The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November ...
. The show received widespread criticism after Jeremy Clarkson's contract was not renewed, addressing the importance of the confrontation but remarking the severity of the decision. Subsequently, after the new Series 23 was released and hosted by Chris Evans, the presenter was widely deemed sub-standard.


Specific criticism


Series 2

After a segment on the
1953 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 21st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 13 and 14 June 1953, at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans (France). It was also the third round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. British drivers ...
, the programme received criticism for damaging a historic Jaguar C-Type valued at £1 million. ''Top Gear'' responded that they had permission to "drive the car hard" but Adrian Hamilton, the car's owner, and ''Top Gear's'' test driver had different ideas on what that meant.


Series 3

During the fifth episode of series three, Clarkson crashed a
Toyota Hilux The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although the ...
into a tree, during a segment in which he attempted to prove the sturdiness and reliability of the truck. The tree belonged to the
Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
Parish in Somerset. The villagers presumed that the damage had been accidental, or that someone had vandalised the tree, until the ''Top Gear'' episode was broadcast. After the BBC was contacted, the director of ''Top Gear'' admitted guilt and the broadcaster paid compensation.


Series 5

The show was criticised by the Mountaineering Council for Scotland when Clarkson drove a Land Rover Discovery to the summit of Cnoc an Fhreiceadain, damaging the terrain as he did so.


Series 8

A segment of the van challenge depicted a producer pretending to be an asylum seeker in the back of a van. During the news segment of episode 7, Clarkson states the show received 150 complaints over a caravan being set alight for a publicity stunt.


Series 9

The BBC apologised to a number of ''Top Gear'' viewers following comments made during the first episode of series nine. Clarkson asked Hammond following his 370 km/h (230 mph) crash, "Are you now a mental?", which was followed by
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...
offering Richard Hammond a tissue "in case he dribbled". The BBC claimed the comments were meant as a joke, but also claimed they saw how the comments could cause offence to mentally disabled and brain-damaged viewers. During the show's American Special, the show received 91 complaints regarding a dead cow being tied to the roof of
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
's
Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...
. It was later revealed by the BBC that the cow had died several days previously and Clarkson had caused no harm or injury to it. Episode five of series nine was criticised for Jeremy Clarkson's reconstruction of a train crash that occurred in
Hibaldstow Hibaldstow is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,433. It is situated on the B1206 road, south from Brigg and the M180. The site of the deserted medieval vill ...
, North Lincolnshire, near
Scunthorpe Scunthorpe () is an industrial town and unparished area in the unitary authority of North Lincolnshire in Lincolnshire, England of which it is the main administrative centre. Scunthorpe had an estimated total population of 82,334 in 2016. A ...
. The incident was mainly criticised due to its insensitivity regarding the Cumbria train crash that occurred only two days earlier. The reconstruction, which was organised by
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
as part of its ''Don't Run The Risk'' campaign, was criticised by Anthony Smith, chief executive of the rail watchdog
Passenger Focus Transport Focus is the statutory watchdog for transport passengers and road users in Great Britain, with offices in London and Manchester. It was named the Rail Passengers Council until January 2006 when renamed Passenger Focus. It was renamed ag ...
, who said: "We need to raise awareness of the issue, but now is not the right time." It was reported that the item had already been delayed several times, due to an earlier fatal level-crossing crash. The BBC defended their decision to broadcast the episode, claiming that "with only one programme remaining in the series, and the frequency of level-crossing accidents, it may have been considered that there was no "appropriate" time to show the film without it "offending" somebody. A repeat of the episode was due to be aired on 1 March 2007, but due to the earlier complaints, and another death on a level crossing earlier that morning, was replaced with a new edition of "The Best of Top Gear". During the show's Polar special at the end of series nine, Jeremy Clarkson was shown drinking
gin and tonic A gin and tonic is a highball cocktail made with gin and tonic water poured over a large amount of ice. The ratio of gin to tonic varies according to taste, strength of the gin, other drink mixers being added, etc., with most recipes calling f ...
while driving through an ice field in the Arctic. Despite the producers' and Clarkson's claims that they were in international waters at the time, the BBC Trust found that the scene could 'glamorise the misuse of alcohol', and that the scene "was not editorially justified in the context of a family show pre- watershed".


Series 10

During the show's Botswana special, a spokesperson for the
Environmental Investigation Agency The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is an international NGO founded in 1984 in the United Kingdom by environmental activists Dave Currey (environmentalist), Dave Currey, Jennifer Lonsdale and Allan Thornton. At present, it has offices i ...
criticised the BBC for leaving tracks in Botswana's Makgadikgadi salt pan. The BBC denied that they had gone near any conservation areas, and asserted that they had followed the advice of environmental experts. Anti-smoking campaigners criticised the show after Clarkson and May smoked Porsche-branded tobacco pipes inside of the studio.


Series 12

Following the first episode of series 12, Jeremy Clarkson was criticised for making a joke regarding lorry drivers killing prostitutes, thought to be alluding to the Ipswich 2006 serial murders, although it is more likely that Clarkson was referring to the
Yorkshire Ripper Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...
. Ofcom received over 500 complaints, but say that the remark was not in breach of the broadcasting code. Afterwards, Labour MP Chris Mole wrote a "strongly worded" letter to the BBC, saying that Clarkson should be sacked regarding the remarks. In response to the complaints on the show, Clarkson announced he would apologise, but later revealed that he was, in fact, apologising for not posting the lap time of a car that was shown on the previous episode. The incident was referenced when
Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...
appeared as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car in July 2009. Clarkson introduced the interview by stating that Fry had "begun his career with a Lorry ( Laurie), so the one thing we can be certain he hasn't done is killed a prostitute".


Series 13

During the final episode of series 13, Clarkson and May were assigned to produce a spoof advert for the new
Volkswagen Scirocco The Volkswagen Scirocco is a three-door, front-engine, front-wheel-drive, sport compact hatchback manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in two generations from 1974 to 1992 and a third generation from 2008 until 2017. Production ended without a ...
. However, one of their spoof ads saw crowds of people leaving
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
in terror on buses and trains, because of the imminent
German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...
. At the end of the advert, Clarkson announced "Volkswagen Scirocco TDI: Berlin to Warsaw in one tank". The advert was uploaded to
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
minutes after its broadcast, spurring angry comments from Polish viewers. A spokeswoman for the show said that the BBC had only received a handful of complaints, but complaints submitted to national broadcast watchdog Ofcom were expected to be higher. Complaints were also received for three other incidents in the programme: a remake of a VW advertisement, in which a suicide is shown on-screen; Clarkson mocking people who have autism, and the use of the word "
pikey ''Pikey'' (; also spelled ''pikie'', ''pykie'' ) is a slang term, which is pejorative and considered by many to be a slur. It is used mainly in the UK to refer to people who are of the Traveller community, a set of ethno-cultural groups found pr ...
", which Clarkson claims to be someone who sells "pegs and heather" to describe drivers of the Vauxhall VXR8. During a warm-up for filming one of the season's episodes, Clarkson reportedly called then Prime Minister Gordon Brown a "silly cunt". He had previously apologised for calling him a "one-eyed Scottish idiot" during a Q&A in 2009, which angered Scottish politicians and disability groups.


Series 15

In a conversation about women distracting the presenters while driving, Clarkson said he recently saw a woman wearing a burka who "tripped over the pavement" and revealed a "red g-string and stockings". Hammond said that this "did not happen", but Clarkson maintained that it was true. A Mediawatch spokesperson said Clarkson "should learn to keep quiet". However, one reporter defended Clarkson. Clarkson's comment about the Ferrari F430 Speciale being "speciale needs" was ruled offensive by Ofcom. Clarkson angered gay rights campaigners after he said off air during a segment that he deserved the right "to not be bummed". It was revealed by guest Alistair Campbell on Twitter.


Series 16

The BBC received 600 complaints following the third episode of series 16, in which the presenters 'murdered' a fat Albanian and attempted to find out which of three car boots he would fit into the best. The episode was also criticised for its stereotypical views on
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
, claiming it is a nest for
Albanian mafia Albanian mafia or Albanian organized crime ( sq, Mafia Shqiptare) are the general terms used for criminal organizations based in Albania or composed of ethnic Albanians. Albanian organized crime is active in Europe, North America, South America ...
car thieves. In the show's Middle East special, the depiction of a baby Stig as Jesus and the use of niqabs by the trio to disguise themselves were criticised by Catholics and Muslims. Ofcom received 19 complaints after the show had the presenters undertake a drive-by shooting on a cardboard cut-out of the Stig during the East Coast Road Trip.


Series 17

This episode showed Clarkson and May parking their electric cars in disabled parking spaces. Later the BBC defended its stars, stating that they had permission from the owners to park in the disabled spaces. A later scene showed people pushing the electric
Nissan Leaf The , stylized as LEAF, is a compact five-door hatchback battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufactured by Nissan. It was introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010, and its second generation was introduced in October 2017. The Lea ...
up a street while Clarkson made jokes about it having run out of charge. Nissan later discovered from onboard data logging that before the "test drive" its charge had been run down to only 40% capacity. Since then ''Top Gear'' has received criticism from electric car enthusiasts, newspapers, celebrities, and Nissan in response to their view on electric cars.


Series 18

Jeremy Clarkson was found to have breached BBC guidelines after comparing a modified Toyota Prius to the
Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...
.


Series 19

In an unaired version of Jeremy Clarkson reviewing the
Toyota GT86 The Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ are 2+2 sports cars jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru, manufactured at Subaru's Gunma assembly plant. The 2+2 fastback coupé has a naturally-aspirated boxer engine, front-engined, rear-wheel-drive confi ...
and the similar
Subaru BRZ The Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ are 2+2 sports cars jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru, manufactured at Subaru's Gunma assembly plant. The 2+2 fastback coupé has a naturally-aspirated boxer engine, front-engined, rear-wheel-drive confi ...
, he uses
eeny meeny miny moe "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe"—which can be spelled a number of ways—is a children's counting-out rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag, or for selecting various other things. It is one of a large group of similar rhymes in which the ...
to pick between the two cars, which has historically included the word "
nigger In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...
". He mumbles through that part of the rhyme, and the ''Daily Mirror'' accused him of mumbling "nigger". In the aired version of the review, he says the word 'teacher' instead of the racial epithet. After denying the incident, once video evidence surfaced, Clarkson issued the following apology, though maintaining that he did not use the word.
"Ordinarily I don't respond to newspaper allegations but on this occasion I feel I must make an exception. A couple of years ago I recorded an item for Top Gear in which I quote the rhyme "eeny, meeny, miny, moe". Of course, I was well aware that in the best-known version of this rhyme there is a racist expression that I was extremely keen to avoid. The full rushes show that I did three takes. In two, I mumbled where the offensive word would normally occur and in the third I replaced it altogether with the word teacher. Now when I viewed this footage several weeks later I realised that in one of the mumbled versions if you listen very carefully with the sound turned right up it did appear that I'd actually used the word I was trying to obscure. I was mortified by this, horrified. It is a word I loathe and I did everything in my power to make sure that that version did not appear in the programme that was transmitted." "I have here the note that was sent at the time to the production office and it says: "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 that we could use?" "Please be assured I did everything in my power to not use that word, as I'm sitting here begging your forgiveness for the fact my efforts obviously weren't quite good enough, thank you."
Though this incident happened before the 'slope' comment in the Burma special, it did not surface until afterwards and the combined complaints caused many public figures to call for Clarkson to be fired and ultimately resulted in a 'final warning' from the BBC regarding racist remarks.


Series 20

The show was criticised by
Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several c ...
s for the filming of a car driving on Ninety Mile Beach, which although it is a public road is considered sacred by Māori tribes.


Series 21

The show was investigated by Ofcom after the words "Pikey Peak" was depicted on a placard on the show. The ''Top Gear'' presenters go across Burma and Thailand in lorries with the goal of building a bridge over the river Kwai. After building a bridge over the
Kok River The Kok River ( th, น้ำแม่กก, , ) is a tributary river of the Mekong that flows in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces in northern Thailand. Source The river originates in the Daen Lao Range, Shan State, Myanmar. It flows east ...
, Clarkson is quoted as saying "That is a proud moment, but there's a slope on it." as a native crosses the bridge, 'slope' being a pejorative for Asians. ''Top Gear'' Executive Producer Andy Wilman responded:
When we used the word slope in the recent Top Gear Burma Special it was a light-hearted word play joke referencing both the build quality of the bridge and the local Asian man who was crossing it. We were not aware at the time, and it has subsequently been brought to our attention, that the word slope is considered by some to be offensive and although it might not be widely recognised in the UK, we appreciate that it can be considered offensive to some here and overseas, for example in Australia and the USA. If we had known that at the time we would not have broadcast the word in this context and regret any offence caused.


Series 22

The show was criticised for staging a crash with two Peugeots near to where a woman died in a head-on collision in 2010, who was also driving a Peugeot.


Series 23

During the first series after Clarkson, May and Hammond's departure, the BBC came under criticism for filming Ken Block speeding and performing
doughnuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...
near the London Cenotaph but defended the decision to film there by saying "The filming took place a respectful distance away from the Cenotaph and it was all agreed with Westminster council in advance."


References

{{Top Gear, state=collapsed
Controversies Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
Jeremy Clarkson's 2015 firing from Top Gear 21st-century controversies BBC controversies