# Top Gear's Clarkson suspended **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713 "2015-03-10T18:29:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/101 "2015-03-20T10:33:53Z")
[Clarkson has commented on his career prospects](http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/20/jeremy-clarkson-foul-mouthed-rant-bbc-top-gear), speaking at a charity event where he was auctioning a chance to drive round the Top Gear track with him: > [@](#): > > “There was an 18-year waiting list to be in the audience of Top Gear, but the BBC has fucked themselves. It was a great show and they’ve fucked it up. No, Jeremy. No. \*You \*fucked it up. Remember when you punched a junior employee in the face to indicate your dissatisfaction with the available menu? That was the point at which you fucked it up. The only thing the BBC fucked up was in allowing him to wallow in the delusion that actions don’t have consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/102 "2015-03-20T16:45:34Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > [Clarkson has commented on his career prospects](http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/20/jeremy-clarkson-foul-mouthed-rant-bbc-top-gear), speaking at a charity event where he was auctioning a chance to drive round the Top Gear track with him: > > No, Jeremy. No. \*You \*fucked it up. Remember when you punched a junior employee in the face to indicate your dissatisfaction with the available menu? That was the point at which you fucked it up. > > The only thing the BBC fucked up was in allowing him to wallow in the delusion that actions don’t have consequences. Since you appear to have intimate knowledge on the incident, maybe you were actually there, do give us a clear - blow-by-blow if you will- account of the fracas. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/103 "2015-03-20T17:06:39Z")
I only know what’s been reported: 1. There was an incident in a public place between Clarkson and his producer, Oisin Tymon. 2. The incident took place after Clarkson had spent some time in a pub. 3. There were several independent eye-witnesses. 4. These eye-witnesses report that Clarkson lengthily berated and swore at Tymon. 5. These eye-witnesses further stated that Clarkson punched Tymon splitting his lip. 6. No witnesses have denied any of this. 7. Tymon had to visit A&E 8. Clarkson felt moved to report the incident himself. 9. Clarkson has not publicly, on or off the record, denied any of this. 10. Clarkson, having given his evidence to the BBC inquiry, believes he is going to be sacked. You are free to draw your own conclusions from this, or to withhold judgement as you see fit. I’d be interested to hear what, if anything, you think might have happened. If there’s anything wrong in the above, or anything I’ve missed, I’d be happy to hear it. It might change my mind. In the meantime, I’ve drawn my own conclusions from the above. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/104 "2015-03-20T17:08:25Z")
I should say, if it turns out I’m wrong I will come back here and say I was… ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/105 "2015-03-20T17:14:13Z")
It’s interesting to note what Clarkson’s close friend AA Gill wrote about the incident: > [@](#): > > Gill, writing in the Sunday Times, said: “Jeremy reported the incident. It was over the absence of hot food at the end of a long and frustrating day with the prospect of another early start in the morning. > > “The producer, Oisin Tymon, had not made a complaint. Jeremy called Danny Cohen, the director of BBC television, directly and explained he had lost his rag. Sources close to Top Gear say the reasons were that he wanted to apologise and make an amend, not least for the sake of the hundreds of people standing by to carry on with the rest of the show. > “People work long hours with a great deal of stress, and small things – almost invariably food – are tetchy trip-wires. Whatever did happen, in mitigation to Jeremy , nobody works harder or under more stress than he.” So from an account presumably favourable to Clarkson, we learn that: There \*was \*an incident; It \*was \*over food; Clarkson felt he needed to apologise; Clarkson admits he lost his temper; There’s no denial of the punch. Make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/106 "2015-03-20T18:21:02Z")
Well we’ll see. If it was a horrendous incident he’ll have to take what’s coming to him. If it was “handbags” in the heat of the moment then I’d be less bothered, these things happen. The BBC continue to employ Roy Keane and he…by his own admission…tried purposefully to break the leg and end the career of another player. Not in the heat of the moment but as an act of cold, calculating brutality. The Clarkson incident, even if true as reported, is small beer compared to that. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/107 "2015-03-20T18:25:01Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > And I think they missed a chance to help revitalize the show starting with, say, a female stig. The stig is asexual. The whole gag is that it’s not really a person, it’s just some sort of racing driver automaton. The stig shows no personality by nature, and really there should be no way to even tell what sex the stig is anyway underneath that suit. What benefit would having a female play something whose defining trait is the lack of personality? It would be extremely gimmicky and pointless. That said, whoever the Stig is is a legit top tier former racing driver, right? Then it’s unlikely that there’s a woman in the world qualified to be the stig. You’d have to throw out previous lap times and stop comparing them because the performance wouldn’t be there. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/108 "2015-03-20T18:30:42Z")
Sounds to me like he was hungry, tired and grouchy, and acted like an ass. Although hardly admirable, these things happen. He apparently apologized to the producer as well as his employer. In today’s litigious, hyper-sensitive society, the employer played it safe by canning him. They probably have the right to do so, but probably not the obligation. BBC’s reaction strikes me as the politically-correct, hand-wringing reaction of a bureaucracy worried about appearance and litigation. I’m hardly brushing aside the incident, but I’m also not over-blowing it. In the olden days, stars certainly did a lot worse and were not only forgiven, but the incidents were covered up and/or denied. BBC looks like the PC weenie to me. But perhaps it’s part of contract negotiations if indeed Clarkson, May and Hammond’s contracts are up. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/109 "2015-03-20T18:31:00Z")
Apparently May and Hammond refused to do the rest of the season without Clarkson. And their contracts with the BBC are all up this year. So it seems like there’s a decent chance they might branch off into a new show, which seems like the best case scenario in this instance. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/110 "2015-03-20T18:46:33Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Apparently May and Hammond refused to do the rest of the season without Clarkson. I heard something about that. Odd, considering how many times they’ve talked about leaving a man behind if his car should break down on the road (and even done it a few times). ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/111 "2015-03-20T19:06:35Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Apparently May and Hammond refused to do the rest of the season without Clarkson. And their contracts with the BBC are all up this year. Not just this year, but at the _end of this month_ (per the OP’s link). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/112 "2015-03-20T19:16:16Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I heard something about that. Odd, considering how many times they’ve talked about leaving a man behind if his car should break down on the road (and even done it a few times). You have to differentiate between their onscreen personas and the actual people. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/113 "2015-03-20T19:19:34Z")
And remember that the “man left behind” is still on camera. So there’s a film crew about twenty feet away. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/114 "2015-03-20T19:21:01Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > I only know what’s been reported: > > 1. There was an incident in a public place between Clarkson and his producer, Oisin Tymon. > 2. The incident took place after Clarkson had spent some time in a pub. > 3. There were several independent eye-witnesses. > 4. These eye-witnesses report that Clarkson lengthily berated and swore at Tymon. > 5. These eye-witnesses further stated that Clarkson punched Tymon splitting his lip. > 6. No witnesses have denied any of this. > 7. Tymon had to visit A&E > 8. Clarkson felt moved to report the incident himself. > 9. Clarkson has not publicly, on or off the record, denied any of this. > 10. Clarkson, having given his evidence to the BBC inquiry, believes he is going to be sacked. > > You are free to draw your own conclusions from this, or to withhold judgement as you see fit. I’d be interested to hear what, if anything, you think might have happened. If there’s anything wrong in the above, or anything I’ve missed, I’d be happy to hear it. It might change my mind. In the meantime, I’ve drawn my own conclusions from the above. > [@Stanislaus](#): > > I should say, if it turns out I’m wrong I will come back here and say I was… > [@Stanislaus](#): > > It’s interesting to note what Clarkson’s close friend AA Gill wrote about the incident: > > So from an account presumably favourable to Clarkson, we learn that: > > There \*was \*an incident; It \*was \*over food; Clarkson felt he needed to apologise; Clarkson admits he lost his temper; There’s no denial of the punch. > > Make of that what you will. But it changes from “he’s an entitled ass who punched a lower level guy” to “a guy snapped after a horrible day, self-reported the incident, and tried to make ammends”. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/115 "2015-03-20T19:22:41Z")
If, hypothetically, Clarkson, May and Hammond moved to another network, how much of the show could they bring with them? Presumably elements like Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, the Stig and so forth are property of the BBC. So they would need to develop new segments. I imagine it would be about a year before any new show was ready for air. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/116 "2015-03-20T21:15:38Z")
Accodring to one story on [The Independent](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/jeremy-clarkson-top-gear-host-called-bbc-producer-a-lazy-irish-c-before-punching-him-disciplinary-will-reportedly-hear-10108158.html) website: > [@](#): > > An onlooker at the alleged ‘fracas’ said earlier this week that Clarkson was angered when he returned to the Simonstone Hall Hotel in the Yorkshire Dales after a day of filming and was informed he could not have the steak he wanted because the chef had gone home. Instead, soup and a cold meat platter had reportedly been arranged. Isn’t that the plot of an episode of _Fawlty Towers_? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/117 "2015-03-20T23:04:52Z")
Okay, now things are just getting weird. [http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/the-stig-delivers-jeremy-clarkson-petition-to-the-bbc-in-a-tank-0320968234](http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/the-stig-delivers-jeremy-clarkson-petition-to-the-bbc-in-a-tank-0320968234) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/118 "2015-03-20T23:34:41Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You have to differentiate between their onscreen personas and the actual people. Indeed. You can get a hint at how they feel about each other [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqYQlE3ZGrc&list=RDiqYQlE3ZGrc#t=3), the intro to the episode when Richard Hammond returns after his near-fatal crash. I can’t seem to find it on the interwebz, but while they are talking about the wreck May and Clarkson mention how scared and upset they were visiting Hammond in the hospital, and how relieved they are that he’s okay; they seemed to be talking from the heart, then. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/119 "2015-03-20T23:35:01Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Okay, now things are just getting weird. > > [http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/the-stig-delivers-jeremy-clarkson-petition-to-the-bbc-in-a-tank-0320968234](http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/the-stig-delivers-jeremy-clarkson-petition-to-the-bbc-in-a-tank-0320968234) I’m not sure which is stranger – that there’s a rent-a-tank service in London, or that they’ll let you drive it on the streets up to the gates of the BBC. At the very least, there must be a swingeing congestion charge. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713/120 "2015-03-21T00:05:10Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Okay, now things are just getting weird. > > [http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/the-stig-delivers-jeremy-clarkson-petition-to-the-bbc-in-a-tank-0320968234](http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/the-stig-delivers-jeremy-clarkson-petition-to-the-bbc-in-a-tank-0320968234) Well what else could matter more to British society than the fate of their favorite car review show? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-gears-clarkson-suspended/714713.md?page=7)