Top Gear's Clarkson suspended by BBC

[jimbob5]

How long till Sky hire the trio that's the question, give it a few weeks. Although as has been mentioned the commercial side of their slagging off could probably be an issue!

The BBC are making a big mistake here IMO, Top Gear is one of its biggest exports, fine him and donate the money to a violence relevant charity and send him on an anger management course.

He was on a final warning and unprovoked it appears, he split a runner's lip. If you think money is more important …….

 

[Justice]

This is the bit i dont get and dont really understand the clarkson defenders. If any of us were verbally abused and then punched at work by our boss or colleagues would we really call it something of nothing? I would expected to be sacked instantly.

I'm not defending anyone just looking at the facts or what we have been told. My mrs works in a well known high st store punch up between two colleagues not one sacking.

 

[jimbob5]

I'm not defending anyone just looking at the facts or what we have been told. My mrs works in a well known high st store punch up between two colleagues not one sacking.

was one on a final warning and out of his box and in a position of seniority and the other one blameless and did not throw a punch?

 

[Greg Bobkin]

If Clarkson had been hit by his producer - can you imagine there being a petition for the producer to remain in their job? He would be out on his ear, faster than the fastest lap around the Top Gear track. The producer is, by all accounts, a nice fella who doesn't really deserve the abuse he got (from Clarkson, or any of his defenders).

I don't get all the BBC-bashing, to be honest. I think it has dealt with the situation well. Employee verbally and physically attacks someone; investigation launched; investigation concluded; contract of employee not renewed. What, exactly, did people expect to happen? For it to be put down as 'banter' in a similar way to some of the other Top Gear stunts?

 

[Easy 10]

If Clarkson had been hit by his producer - can you imagine there being a petition for the producer to remain in their job? He would be out on his ear, faster than the fastest lap around the Top Gear track. The producer is, by all accounts, a nice fella who doesn't really deserve the abuse he got (from Clarkson, or any of his defenders).

I don't get all the BBC-bashing, to be honest. I think it has dealt with the situation well. Employee verbally and physically attacks someone; investigation launched; investigation concluded; contract of employee not renewed. What, exactly, did people expect to happen? For it to be put down as 'banter' in a similar way to some of the other Top Gear stunts?

I'm not defending Clarksons actions, he was clearly bang out of order and being a tit again. The non-renewing of his contract is perfectly justifiable from the BBC's point of view.

However

In the cold light of day, I would hope that two grown adults could amicably resolve this between themselves, following a sincere apology from Clarkson. If this producer accepted the apology, and a promise that nothing like this would ever be repeated, then shirly the world can move on and Top Gear can continue in its present form - is that not too much to ask ? As a show it may not be everyones cup of tea and it clearly divides opinion. But millions upon millions DO enjoy Top Gear, I'm one of them, and now we are all going to be deprived of it because of a silly incident, a moment of madness which has inevitably been blown out of all proportion in a media feeding frenzy.

Nothing can justify Clarkson punching this guy. But why is a sincere apology not enough ? Its a cut lip, not a major trauma. Fine Clarkson if necessary, get them both back working on the show, and move the frig on.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

BBC have shot themselves in the foot financially , sadly we'll all pay with an increase in the licence fee to cover the lost revenue.

 

[El Presidente]

BBC have shot themselves in the foot financially , sadly we'll all pay with an increase in the licence fee to cover the lost revenue.

Errr..........the BBC don't set the licence fee though, so how can they increase it?

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Errr..........the BBC don't set the licence fee though, so how can they increase it?

Don't they submit their profit / loss levels at any point in the licence fee setting process ?

 

[vegster]

I still don't get the national outpouring of grief over Clarkson's demise. The BBC have " let him go " which is about the best that Clarkson can hope for given the circumstances. In reality he should have been sacked for gross misconduct and had that put on file. Imagine his next job interview....." Tell me Mr Clarkson, why did you leave your last job ? " " Er, I was sacked for hitting a fellow employee after a string of minor disciplinary issues " ....... That's what would happen in the real world. Good old George Orwell he really was a shrewd observer of life when he wrote " All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others "

 

[Man of Harveys]

But why is a sincere apology not enough ? Its a cut lip, not a major trauma. Fine Clarkson if necessary, get them both back working on the show, and move the frig on.

Frankly, I couldn't disagree more. How many more final warnings would that tedious scumbag need before the BBC simply looked an utter laughing stock, not to mention opening itself up to possibly contravening employment law by not dealing appropriately with violence at the workplace?

Frankly, the boring pube-head's previous apology from the toilet about using the n-word - for giggles, right? - was weird and toe-curling enough, not to mention about as sincere as a game show host's smile.

Good riddance to vile, unfunny, racist rubbish. Oh and now we know he's a pathetic, petty, tetchy prima donna too. My licence fee shouldn't pay for that.

 

[BensGrandad]

What a ridiculous opinion to hold. For a start Clarkson is potentially a "current criminal" so the police should be chasing him in your opinion. Also you don't want to see people who used their position of fame and trust to commit a series of hideous sexual attacks on children and young women brought to justice cause it was a while ago now? How far back should the police be allowed to go? A week? A year? A decade?

No that is wrong. I think that the police shouldnt devote time to such trivial matters as somebody punching somebody else, not beating them up or using excessive violence that is totally different. Has everybody who has punched somebody been prosecuted? I also believe the police should continue investigatjng old sex crimes but there must be priorities. Rightly or wrongly I believe a recent crime should demand more priority as it is easier to establish the facts and less likely for the facts to be blurred through time. I realise that those old victims would be less happy but finance establishs resources and priorities.

 

[Easy 10]

Frankly, I couldn't disagree more. How many more final warnings would that tedious scumbag need before the BBC simply looked an utter laughing stock, not to mention opening itself up to possibly contravening employment law by not dealing appropriately with violence at the workplace?

Frankly, the boring pube-head's previous apology from the toilet about using the n-word - for giggles, right? - was weird and toe-curling enough, not to mention about as sincere as a game show host's smile.

Good riddance to vile, unfunny, racist rubbish. Oh and now we know he's a pathetic, petty, tetchy prima donna too. My licence fee shouldn't pay for that.

Like I say, its a show that divides opinion, as does Clarkson. Personally I like the show and find his boarish oaf persona on it quite funny. He's also a very good writer and columnist, one of the most amusing weaver of metaphors in the media, and there's no-one else quite like him which made him something refreshingly different on our screens. He's as far removed from the endless army of Schofield-clone presenters you can get, which IMO can only be a good thing. The fact I enjoy his output doesn't make me an apologist for him - like I say, his punch cannot possibly be justified. But I'll be sorry to see the show disappear, and just wish this could have been resolved with an apology and a handshake over what was, in the great scheme of things, a pretty minor scuffle by the sounds.

But the BBC must be "seen to be doing the right thing" in this day and age I suppose. Everyone wants their pound of flesh, so that's the end of a decent bit of Sunday night telly for everyone who enjoyed it.

 

[Hotchilidog]

Like I say, its a show that divides opinion, as does Clarkson. Personally I like the show and find his boarish oaf persona on it quite funny. He's also a very good writer and columnist, one of the most amusing weaver of metaphors in the media, and there's no-one else quite like him which made him something refreshingly different on our screens. He's as far removed from the endless army of Schofield-clone presenters you can get, which IMO can only be a good thing. The fact I enjoy his output doesn't make me an apologist for him - like I say, his punch cannot possibly be justified. But I'll be sorry to see the show disappear, and just wish this could have been resolved with an apology and a handshake over what was, in the great scheme of things, a pretty minor scuffle by the sounds.

But the BBC must be "seen to be doing the right thing" in this day and age I suppose. Everyone wants their pound of flesh, so that's the end of a decent bit of Sunday night telly for everyone who enjoyed it.

Pretty sure you can get your Clarkson fix elsewhere sooner rather than later, I wouldn't worry to much about that. He had to go, bit of a no brainer for the BBC who have a duty of care to their employees. I really fail to see what the fuss is about.

 

[Man of Harveys]

But the BBC must be "seen to be doing the right thing" in this day and age I suppose. Everyone wants their pound of flesh, so that's the end of a decent bit of Sunday night telly for everyone who enjoyed it.

Bizarre stuff, this.

That's the equivalent of putting the blame exclusively on the referee for sending off a player who's just thrown punches at someone. "Oh well, the ref's gone and ruined what was a good game up to that point by doing that." - you hear it said. You're not by any chance Alan Green, are you?

 

[Easy 10]

Pretty sure you can get your Clarkson fix elsewhere sooner rather than later, I wouldn't worry to much about that. He had to go, bit of a no brainer for the BBC who have a duty of care to their employees. I really fail to see what the fuss is about.

Oh he'll still be writing, and no doubt there'll be a new show in some other format on some other channel, hopefully with May and Hammond. Just such a pity to lose Top Gear. There's not *many* shows I set my planner to record, but that was always one of them.

I agree with you in that I think far too much fuss was made of this, it could have been resolved privately if the producer he hit was prepared to accept his apology - which I think he probably would have. But there are plenty of anti-Clarkson voices out there who were always going to seize on this as being the final straw, demand that the BBC act in the strongest way possible, and bin him off. The BBC were put in a difficult position, have played it by the book, and can't really be criticised for that. But it means we've lost a good show now.

Oh well. Life goes on.

 

[brakespear]

I'm not defending Clarksons actions, he was clearly bang out of order and being a tit again. The non-renewing of his contract is perfectly justifiable from the BBC's point of view.

However

In the cold light of day, I would hope that two grown adults could amicably resolve this between themselves, following a sincere apology from Clarkson. If this producer accepted the apology, and a promise that nothing like this would ever be repeated, then shirly the world can move on and Top Gear can continue in its present form - is that not too much to ask ? As a show it may not be everyones cup of tea and it clearly divides opinion. But millions upon millions DO enjoy Top Gear, I'm one of them, and now we are all going to be deprived of it because of a silly incident, a moment of madness which has inevitably been blown out of all proportion in a media feeding frenzy.

Nothing can justify Clarkson punching this guy. But why is a sincere apology not enough ? Its a cut lip, not a major trauma. Fine Clarkson if necessary, get them both back working on the show, and move the frig on.

I appreciuate your (and countless millions of others) entertainment is incredibly important but I fail to see how an employee, on a final warning. verbally haranguing and then physically attacking a junior and then not having their contract renewed counts as something 'blown out of all proportion', aside maybe from the reactions of some of those countless millions towards the victim on Twitter and other social nedia.

 

[Easy 10]

Bizarre stuff, this.

That's the equivalent of putting the blame exclusively on the referee for sending off a player who's just thrown punches at someone. "Oh well, the ref's gone and ruined what was a good game up to that point by doing that." - you hear it said. You're not by any chance Alan Green, are you?

See this is what we constantly have now - the theoretical removal of the incident and the placement of it in an entirely different context, with other people involved. "If this had happened between so-and-so" and "if this had gone on in a Latvian call centre or on a football pitch or in a warehouse in Sutton" etc etc.

I just prefer to take a step back and look at the incident (from what we know of it) just on its own merits, without re-enacting it within a completely different context. Its two blokes who work with each other, who got into a ridiculous scuffle, and Clarkson is to blame for going too far. I think an apology and handshake could and should have been enough to sort it without binning off Clarkson and Top Gear, you disagree because that's not how it would be sorted at Old Trafford if it went off between Rooney and an abusive ball boy.

Okey doke. We'll agree to disagree.

 

[Kuipers Supporters Club]

Those worried about Top Gear going off air, I wouldn't worry. Will be back on Netflix with a new series soon enough.

 

[Easy 10]

I appreciuate your (and countless millions of others) entertainment is incredibly important but I fail to see how an employee, on a final warning. verbally haranguing and then physically attacking a junior and then not having their contract renewed counts as something 'blown out of all proportion', aside maybe from the reactions of some of those countless millions towards the victim on Twitter and other social nedia.

Like I say, people want their pound of flesh, and now they've got it. I'm not defending Clarkson, he has been a colossal bellend (again) and only has himself to blame for how this turned out. But I still think its something that could have been resolved without it involving sackings and cancellations.
That's just my opinion on it.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I'm not defending Clarksons actions, he was clearly bang out of order and being a tit again. The non-renewing of his contract is perfectly justifiable from the BBC's point of view.

However

In the cold light of day, I would hope that two grown adults could amicably resolve this between themselves, following a sincere apology from Clarkson. If this producer accepted the apology, and a promise that nothing like this would ever be repeated, then shirly the world can move on and Top Gear can continue in its present form - is that not too much to ask ? As a show it may not be everyones cup of tea and it clearly divides opinion. But millions upon millions DO enjoy Top Gear, I'm one of them, and now we are all going to be deprived of it because of a silly incident, a moment of madness which has inevitably been blown out of all proportion in a media feeding frenzy.

Nothing can justify Clarkson punching this guy. But why is a sincere apology not enough ? Its a cut lip, not a major trauma. Fine Clarkson if necessary, get them both back working on the show, and move the frig on.

Sorry Easy, but I'm a bit confused here. You seem to be contradicting yourself here, unless I've misinterpreted what you're saying.

Again, if you switch the two individuals involved, you reckon Clarkson would carry on working with a producer who had verbally and physically abused him, on the basis that the producer had apologised, regardless of how sincerely? Not a chance in hell.

As for Clarkson - he had form and he was on a final warning. My theory? He knew EXACTLY what he was doing, and has been a part of this "media feeding frenzy" to leave TG on a 'high' in terms of his public profile, and move onto another show on another channel.

But then I'm a MASSIVE cynic...