.
Oh my God, have you heard about John and Debbie?
No, what on earth’s happened?
They are getting a divorce
WHAT?!!! But they have been together for ten years. I thought they were really happy together
Well seems it is all over
Why?
He slapped her and split her lip
OH EM GEE that’s appalling. Is she okay?
Not really. He screamed at her for ages first and she had to go to A&E, on her own.
I am truly shocked. I would never think he would hit anybody. That is just awful.
I know, right?
Has he said why?
Yeah, seems he got home from a long day at work and there was no hot dinner.
Oh actually, he does have a point
Yeah, I guess he does. Yeah actually why is everybody making such a fuss?
I think I might start a petition to say that he is a nice guy and that actually Debbie is at fault here.
Can you imagine that conversation actually ever playing out?
No. Nor can I.
I have stayed mostly quiet on the Clarkson story because the more it went on the more ridiculous people were becoming. If we think One Direction fans are a bit ridiculous, when Top Gear fans are a whole different kettle of fish.
Clarkson hit somebody. It is that simple. Why it took weeks for an official investigation, I have no idea. It doesn’t need “investigating”.
Thank you for coming to me Jeremy, what’s the issue?
I hit Oisin
Did he hit you first?
No
Did he hit you back?
No
Then you are sacked and there is nothing further to say
Ten minutes. One meeting. Job done. The really crucial bit is what was mentioned in Oisin’s own statement
That one sentence is what this is all about.
Not ratings. Not PR. Not the money Top Gear makes around the world for the BBC. But that right there.
So it is right that Clarkson was fired. And actually he hasn’t technically been fired. That would have left the BBC open to being sued I suspect. No, they have just decided to “not renew his contract”. Hmmm. Sounds like a cop out to me.
What of poor Oisin, then following this unprovoked attack? Well he is not the victim in all this apparently. Oh no, read this article in the Huffington Post and weep. Weep. Jeremy is not to blame here apparently. Not for the end of Top Gear. Not for the fracas. Not for a single bit of it. To blame is Oisin. It is all his fault.
Seriously? I mean fucking seriously? On what planet is the victim EVER to blame?
“she was raped because she wore a short skirt”. Nope. We are not blaming her
“she deserved a slap” No she didn’t
“He got what was coming to him, he owed me money”. Again, no he didn’t
“Jeremy Clarkson slapped him”. Oh good on Jeremy.
If that is ever justified we might as well all just give up. Amanda (@Pandamoanimum) sums it up thus
Amen to that.
totally agree…yes, loads of people love Top Gear, yes, people will miss the show..but the attack can’t be overlooked, despite, as I heard someone say on the radio yesterday “at the end of a long day of filming all you need is food”..erm yeah, that maybe so, but you don’t go hitting someone if the food is not there on time..we’re talking about a grown man here, not a toddler.
It’s horrific isn’t it? What sort of message do we send with this, what sort of message when the Prime minister laughingly tells us his daughter is showing her support of a bully! Just about sums up our society really doesn’t it!
Spot on ! He’s a bully , he crossed the line, any other employee would have been given instant dismissal …..end of .
What’s so worrying is the number of people who signed the petition to keep him knowing what he’d done ! They were condoning violence . You don’t ”back” a bully , and a filthy mouthed one too .
The more I observe all of this grotty little affair with Clarkson et al the more I suspect it has been engineered from the beginning to get him and his pals out of their contract with the BBC without any penalties. It stinks of PR and publicity management. The whole media circus that surrounds this affair disgusts me and as you say the moment he first reported it, the outcome should have been clear and decisive and the BBC should have sent a message to its employees that they were safe from violence committed by another employee. But they didn’t – again.
I agree Mark. The idea his contract was not renewed leaves the door open for a contract to be offered in the future. And for his CV to be blot free. He never has to say he was fired or his contract ended for violence.
Let’s hope the police now do what they should have been asked to do a month ago and investigate and prosecute him for ABH. No mark on his CV but a criminal record. Let’s see him try and get a work permit for the US then
Oh God well said T … I cannot believe the reaction of the Clarkson fans (well, I can). Utter morons.
Morons. Spot on Kate.
That tweet is perfect. Exactly what I was thinking when I started reading your post. You can just see the schoolboy that Clarkson was. I bet there would be a ton of mums now says “Uh-uh, yep, I could could have told you so 40 years ago…” We all know who they are, and unless it’s ironed out at a young age, it will have to be dealt with like this when they’re adults.
Shameful.
I have been disgusted at the way it has been handled from start to finish. Isn’t it strange the victim has never been seen so no one can see the real damage has been done. He should of been sacked! He shouldn’t be above the rules.
Very well said. So much idiocy and victim blaming going on with this, it’s been really getting to me. You have hit the nail on the head.
I actually like top gear, but then I liked it when Clarkson wasn’t the main presenter. As a person, he’s proved himself to be a pompous bully, he was right to be let go. I do hope something is in place to help the man he hit, he has a tough road ahead of him. This piece is spot on x
Clarkson – Nil
Society – Infinity
My stance on this is slightly different. Did anyone ever get both sides of the story? I actually punched my boss once. I got fired too, but my boss made it clear they didn’t want to fire me, but couldn’t face the legal headache. I received about twelve messages congratulating me. You see the thing is, my boss had been bullying me for a really long time. Not just me, but some of my friends too. He split me and my then-boyfriend up, alienated me from all my colleagues with lies, banned my best friend from seeing me (because he was dating her) and put chilli powder in my friends food every single day so he had nothing to eat after work. He also verbally abused me on a regular basis. He was someone who emotionally abused people. And one night, when I’d had too much to drink and he was saying unforgivable things about how he planned to make my life even worse, I lost it and I hit him. Not my proudest moment, no. But to be honest, if I went back in time, I’d probably do it again. It got me out of a situation where I was being bullied and it got the management to take action to prevent him from bullying other members of staff. He got a disciplinery and later on got sacked himself. As soon as he was gone, they invited me back and I went to work there again.
I’m not condoning violence or even saying that this is the case with Jeremy Clarkson. And yes, he should be sacked either way, like I was. I just think it’s a bit off that nobody ever got his side of the story. If it was generally just that he hit his boss for no reason, or if, like me, he had been provoked and abused long term before this happened?
Thanks Emma, and that sounds like an awful situation. I think possibly in the same place I would do the same. However, Jeremy has admitted that he wasn’t provoked and that this was a great working relationship. They have worked together for ten years without incident. Insiders say that Jeremy was increasingly becoming an ogre who believed his own hype in having to be this un-PC oaf. They did investigate the incident that night, and have witnesses who heard and saw it all who have corroborated what happened. In this instance there was no excuse. Not for the thump, not for the “I am going to get you sacked” bullying either for somebody who was doing his job. At the end of the day the chef had gone home. That’s down to the hotel not the poor producer who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time
T, I love your Ranty Friday posts as they are so powerful! This is exactly the point and I am beyond stunned at how many people think Clarkson has somehow been wronged! The worst part for me is that he will get all manner of new job opportunities offered to him, whereas anyone else losing their job for this kind of behaviour would need to prove to they were working on their behaviour and anger issues!! And then there’s James May posting videos of himself playing the recorder as he is “unemployed” like it’s all a funny joke… That just makes me so angry, I’ve missed out on 3 jobs since being made redundant (through no fault of my own!) because I am “overqualified” and yet their idiotic behaviour will no doubt have them back in work in no time. Oh and I can’t claim job seekers benefit as I didn’t pay enough NI Contributions the year I stayed home with my baby!! I imagine there are plenty more unemployed people out there similarly struggling and getting rather narked by such a ridiculous situation. It really makes my blood boil, the entire thing, it stinks. It was abuse, end of. It comes after a string of warnings over appropriate behaviour. And all because as a society we act as if some people are untouchable when it comes to both common decency and the law!
Thank you! I am seeing people all over post about how tragic it is, that he has been sacked, and that a fuss is being made over nothing. If I walked into my workplace, shouted at my colleagues and the volunteers who work with me, and then punched someone because my coffee wasn’t how I liked it, then I suspect I would loose my job and people would be totally in agreement, but because he’s famous, and works for a big organisation and generates a lot of revenue, it’s ok for him to behave, frankly, like a spoiled toddler, and get away with it.
I have linked up an old post, for RF, I hope that’s ok. I wanted to rant about Mr Clarkson, but as you have done that, I don’t feel the need, but mine is about being kind to our fellow parents, a much needed rant that I wanted to re share! 🙂
That’s pretty much what I said! But I swore more! That tweet is genius. Sums the whole thing up