The entire universe was in uproar this past week, when news emerged that Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson kinda-sorta-but-not-really mumbled the n-word in a rehearsal last week. The next time he gets in trouble may be his last, Clarkson wrote in his weekly column for The Sun.
The timing of the latest scandal couldn't have been worse, coming off the heels of the Top Gear Burma Special, where Clarkson used an archaic, offensive term for people of East Asian descent.
The two incidents in conjunction might've been enough to kill the career of any other television presenter, but Clarkson has the advantage of being incredibly good at what he does, and bringing in incredible loads of cash for the BBC.
But the Beeb has made it clear to Clarkson that this will be the last, LAST, last, last time they let him get away with this, and there will definitely, certainly, no-way-no-how be any other incidents:
I've been told by the BBC that if I make one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time, I will be sacked. And even the angel Gabriel would struggle to survive with that hanging over his head.
It's inevitable that one day, someone, somewhere will say that I've offended them, and that will be that.
Of course, this is coming from the same guy who proclaims that every new car with a V12 engine will be the last, LAST, last, last V12 ever made, even if those pronouncements do come in the middle of absolutely beautiful and stirring pieces.
So I bet it'll be a long, long time until we've heard the last from the old curmudgeon.
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