REPORT: Jeremy Clarkson against female Top Gear host, calls audience members 'oafs'
Top Gear chief oaf (read: presenter) Jeremy Clarkson is no stranger to controversy when he speaks. In fact, he rather seems to thrive on it, which undoubtedly is a big part of the appeal of the show. Earlier this week, he spouted off again apparently in an attempt to irritate (or bemuse) women everywhere while at the same time alienating his core audience.
While discussing Top Gear at a television conference in Scotland, Clarkson apparently indicated that he didn't think a female presenter would be able to hold her own in the testosterone-infused environment that is the Top Gear studio. According to Clarkson: "I think a girl would be a disaster, seeing the chemistry we have now...you bring a girl in and you start taking the piss out of her, that would look like bullying."
At the same event, Clarkson also referred to most of the live audience at the show as oafs, using that as a justification for bringing some of the attractive women in the crowd up to the front. In this case, it may be hard to argue, and Jezza was probably just verbalizing what the hosts of many programs such as NBC's Today Show are thinking when they look out the window at the people standing in the street hoping for a few seconds of screen time.
What do you think – is Clarkson right or wrong? Could Top Gear benefit from a female voice, or is it better off as a boys' club? Drop your fellow reader a line in 'Comments.'
[Source: The Guardian | Image: Dan Kitwood/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
St.McDuck 5:36PM (8/30/2009)
Top Gear needs to change NOTHING. It's my definition of a perfect show.
Keep the girls to random background assets and let Jeremy say what he wants. The dude has earned that right.
Reply
Javanese 5:50PM (8/30/2009)
My thoughts exactly, remember in the earlier top gear where he kept using attractive girls in bikinis to "enhance" his points? That's as far as I would go letting women be a part of the top gear crew. Last thing i need is watching some feminist BS kept whining every week at every sexist comment that clarkson make. It's a joke get it? if he was sexist i dont think his wife would stick by him for so long.
sirloinofbeef89 6:33PM (8/30/2009)
I agree, what makes the Top Gear presenters great isn't that they're a bunch of men doing manly things, its that they are friends just hanging out and messing around. Adding another person, male or female, would just make the hosting awkward.
Quantumphysics 6:35PM (8/30/2009)
I can't believe what I'm hearing. I thought there'd be a change in sexism towards women when Danica Patrick started doing well. Guess some people never evolve.
J.Crew 7:17PM (8/30/2009)
It's called diversity... I believe it was an old wooden ship...
I hear that bears can smell their menstuation... BEARS!
It's called ANCHORMAN!!! ...not anchorwoman... and that is a scientific FACT!
60% of the time it works...every time...
Ok, I got it out now...for the most part. I am going to start calling Jezza "Ron Burgandy" from now on...
Alex 7:46PM (8/30/2009)
ditto. Keep the current format, don't change a thing.
dougjp 7:46PM (8/30/2009)
Clarkson is always right. Everybody knows that.
Carry on.....
CaramelZappa 8:24PM (8/30/2009)
Couldn't agree more. They don't need a new host. male or female. They just need to keep doing what they have been.
@Jcrew, they actually say anchorlady in the movie, not anchorwoman, but made me laugh all the same.
TigerMil 9:39PM (8/30/2009)
The Stig menstruates. "nuff said.
cool_ozzyfromkalush 9:40PM (8/30/2009)
One of the most defining features of TopGear is that they never listen to critics... so why start now???
zamafir 9:50PM (8/30/2009)
@Quantumphysics - the show is sexist, and racist, and everything-ist, that's the point, it's part of jeremy's character and people eat it up. And he's entirely right, were a female co-host added things would go down tubes quite quickly. I'm not sure what dp has to do with anything, it's not like us car enthusiasts all needed a female race driver to join the post 50's crowd. We're all already there, some with degrees in gender studies even, gasp. And we still love our topgear the way it is thank you very much.
daleam 11:54PM (8/30/2009)
It was a stupid thing to say.
And I agree with him 100%.
Bran 12:06AM (8/31/2009)
Autoblog quoted somebody, I believe Clarkson, a short time ago. It went something like this,
"Bringing on a woman to co-host Top Gear, simply to appease the diversity plight of some, naively suggests that the female audience can only accept a message if it is delivered to them by someone of the same sex and not based on the personal merit of the hosts."
Putting emphasis on diversity rather than content is superficial and silly. Women are every bit as capable of accepting a show based on merit and not whether or not it is hosted by men or women. Now, let's all go watch The View.
click.kas 4:14AM (8/31/2009)
Jeremy was frank like always and thats why he is what he is now. A girl presenter would be a disaster, with the kind of character play off they have now in TG , it would become a mess if you put a girl presenter in.
According to me TG is the best show on the whole wide world and Jezza is the best presenter , the Man can make the most uninteresting thing the most interesting. and Season 13 had an exceptional quality, he doesn't seem to have run out of ideas!!
live long TG and JEZZA!!
http://www.indianautotalk.com
Silly Pickle 7:28AM (8/31/2009)
I heard a song in a store yesterday while out shopping for back to school stuff for the kids...some pop teen girl...maybe she was an adult...something about "anything boys can do girls can do too!" (catchy song)...and then I thought...no - you can't pee standing up (though I dare say they've tried - it's just not the same).
Leave TG as is...that's why it's a boys club. Girls have other girls to twitter with...can't men just be men now and then? Sheesh!
ytilanigiroon 11:47AM (8/31/2009)
So, since Danica is "contemplating" a move to NASCAR, she's starting to do "well"? She's won one race, and is never in contention for a championship. What, exactly, is she doing well? She's an average IRL driver with an exceptional attitude problem at best. I'm not saying she's not skilled, but she's definitely a little fish in IndyCar... She has 45 top 10's, including 4 on the podium and one win, of her 82 starts in IndyCar. The closest she's been to a championship is sixth (not counting this year).
She's done better than I am/ever will be because she's driving professionally, but being better than some guy on the internet isn't exactly something to write home about...
J.Crew 12:46PM (8/31/2009)
Geez, why all the hate for my reply? I love Top Gear and this makes me laugh as it totally mimics Anchorman when they hire an "Anchorlady" as I said incorrectly stated "Anchorwoman"...for the scientific fact part. Oh well, can't live with them... pass the beer nuts.
WHAT!?! 4:35PM (8/31/2009)
If they change nothing, they will fade out, just like everything else that stays exactly the same. It only lasts for so long.
Taylor. Yes, Taylor. 7:17PM (8/31/2009)
Another vote for changing nothing. At least not just for the sake of changing it, they're welcome to continue their evolution towards godhood, as far as I'm concerned. heh.
Clarkson's very popularity is based on his ability to rile people up, and his absurd sensibilities are what make him so funny. I'm a big fan of his off-color comments, because I'm the same way. I make all kinds of pretend sexist jokes - saying a women's place is in the kitchen, etc - but it's all completely non-serious. I have the utmost respect for women and absolutely don't believe the jokes I'm making, I just think pretending to be politically incorrect is funny, as long as people know it.
Clarkson's comment wasn't necessarily all a joke though, but it wasn't an insult to women either; he was just saying that with all the sexist jokes they make, it might look less like a joke if a women is part of the crew. And because of the crazy politically-correct climate we live in (though lots of it makes sense to me, just not all), if he were to make fun of a woman crew member the same way he makes fun of the guys, it might appear to some people to be misogynistic instead of just funny.
Really Clarkson is just worried about being able to be himself, which is fair enough.
-Taylor
hurricane andrew 4:27PM (9/18/2009)
It's like I always say--they guys with the biggest mouths are always the guys with the smallest penis