Those well know Top Gear bigots at the NTA Awards
The BBC finds its balls and pens the perfect apology to the Mexican Ambassador’s complaints about Top Gear’s Mexican jibes
You all know the background. Top Gear takes the piss. Out of everyone, regardless of race, creed, colour, nationality, political persuasion or personal background. That’s the Top Gear way.
And the wonderful antidote Top Gear provides to the usual political correctness oozing from every pore of the BBC is a huge part of its appeal. Most nationalities – even the Germans – take that on board and find it funny. Just ask that well know Top Gear target ‘Ginger German’ Boris Becker. Who even turned up in person to be abused.
But it seems the Mexicans are more precious. Or at least their Ambassador in London is. For he – as you probably know – has taken huge offence to the Hamster’s comments on last week’s Top Gear. As a reminder, when talking about the likely traits of the Mexican-built Mastretta MXT, Richard said:
“Mexican cars are just going to be a lazy, feckless, flatulent, oaf with a moustache leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat.”
To compound the crime – at least in the eyes of Ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza – James likened Mexican food to fried sick and Jeremy said none of the comments mattered as the Mexican Ambassador would be asleep and wouldn’t know what they’d said. But he was actually awake, and piously complained to the BBC about Top Gear’s ‘bigotry and ignorance.’
Sadly, it wasn’t exactly the funniest or best-structured jibe to come from Top Gear. But that’s not the point. The point is that Top Gear must have the freedom to try and be funny and fail. And should be accused of nothing more than being un-funny. For the root of this was a joke, not an attack on a nation’s people.
Thankfully, the BBC found its balls hidden in a suitcase labelled 1948 and penned the perfect apology:
“Our own comedians make jokes about the British being terrible cooks and terrible romantics, and we in turn make jokes about the Italians being disorganized and over dramatic; the French being arrogant and the Germans being over organized,” the statement read. “We are sorry if we have offended some people, but jokes centered on national stereotyping are a part of ‘Top Gear’s’ humour.”
Which basically says ‘Get a sense of humour’. Well done BBC.
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