Jeremy Clarkson: A Timeline of Controversies

British TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson is famous for cohosting Top Gear—and infamous for off-the-cuff comments he’s made on camera and altercations while off-screen. He’s been accused of racism, sexism, and homophobia—and it was an attack on a producer that led to his departure from Top Gear more than a decade ago.

Since then, Clarkson has continued with new projects like The Grand Tour, the U.K.’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and Clarkson’s Farm. Here’s a timeline of his controversies.

1998: Alleged Racist Comments About South Koreans

Hyundai U.K. Complained to the BBC in 1998, alleging Clarkson had made “bigoted and racist” comments about employees of Hyundai, a South Korean car manufacturer, at a motor show in Birmingham, England.

“What was reported back to me was that he said the people on the Hyundai stand had eaten dog, and that the designer of one of our cars, the XG, had probably eaten a spaniel for lunch,” Hyundai UK spokesman Stephen Kitson told BBC News. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/178449.stm

2005: Mock Nazi Salute

Clarkson sparked outrage in 2005 when he made a mock Nazi salute in reference to a BMW car on Top Gear. He also made references to Germany’s 1939 invasion of Poland and Adolf Hitler’s boasts about the Third Reich, according to The Scotsman.

David Marsh, a U.K. Businessman and a leader of the German-British Forum, objected to Clarkson’s behavior, calling it “poisonous rubbish.”

2008: Joke About Truck Drivers and Sex Workers

In 2008, more than 500 people complained to the BBC after Clarkson made a joke about truck drivers murdering sex workers, BBC News reported. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7484499.stm

Clarkson responded in a column in The Sunday Times, stating, “There are more crucial things to worry about than what some balding and irrelevant middle-aged man might have said on a crappy BBC2 motoring show.”

2010: Homophobic Joke

Top Gear guest Alastair Campbell blogged in 2010 that in a deleted scene, Clarkson said he did have a sound opinion on gay rights by saying, “I demand the right not to be bummed.” (In the U.K., “bummed” can colloquially mean “engaged in anal sex.”) https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/top-gear/a184433/clarkson-gay-rights-joke-criticised/

Ben Summerskill of the gay rights organization Stonewall later commented on the remark.

2011: Suggestion to Shoot Striking Workers

In 2011, Clarkson offered a controversial opinion on public sector workers’ strikes over pensions, saying, “Frankly, I’d have them all shot.” He added, “I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families.”

The trade union Unison called for Clarkson to be sacked, and Clarkson later apologized, according to BBC News. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/9563999.stm

2012: Offensive Jokes About India

A 2012 Top Gear Christmas special prompted a complaint from Indian diplomats to the BBC over jokes about Indian food, clothing, toilets, trains, and history. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/18/top-gear-india-diplomatic-complaint

“We are not amused,” one diplomat told The Guardian.

2014: Offensive “Wordplay”

In a 2014 Top Gear episode, Clarkson made a comment that could be interpreted as an anti-Asian slur while watching a local man cross a bridge in Thailand.

Executive producer Andy Wilman said the word was used as “light-hearted wordplay” and they were unaware it could be offensive.

2014: Resurfaced Alleged N-Word Use

The Daily Mirror claimed to have obtained footage of Clarkson uttering the N-word while reciting the nursery rhyme “Eeny Meeny Miny Moe.” Clarkson claimed he “mumbled” the word and said he couldn’t apologize for something he hadn’t done.

2015: Firing After Producer Altercation

In 2015, the BBC fired Clarkson from Top Gear following an altercation with producer Oisin Tymon, who was left with a bloody lip. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/25/jeremy-clarkson-sacked-by-bbc-after-altercation-with-producer

Clarkson reportedly grew irate after being told he could not order a sirloin steak and allegedly called Tymon a “lazy, Irish c***.” Clarkson and the BBC settled Tymon’s claim.

2023: Sexist Column About Meghan Markle

A 2022 column Clarkson wrote about Meghan Markle in The Sun was deemed sexist by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso), receiving a record 25,000 complaints. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64299493

Clarkson wrote that he hated Markle on “a cellular level” and included graphic imagery. Both Clarkson and The Sun apologized, and Clarkson’s daughter Emily publicly disavowed his comments.