British Humour In Crisis: Japan Bans Fry And Mexico Hates Top Gear
TOP Gear front man Jeremy Clarkson and his sidekicks have fallen foul of Mexico. The country’s ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora has made a complaint to the BBC about comments made by Richard Hammond in his latest attempt to brown nose Clarkson:
In the show, during a discussion about a sports car made by Mexican firm Mastretta, presenter Richard Hammond said vehicles reflected national characteristics.
“Mexican cars are just going to be lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight, leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat,” he said.
He forgot to mention the cocaine and the flu. But he did add:
“These offensive, xenophobic and humiliating remarks only serve to reinforce negative stereotypes and perpetuate prejudice against Mexico and its people.”
The BBC says the joke “may appear offensive to those who have not watched the programme or who are unfamiliar with its humour“.
Once is an accident. Twice is a pattern: Stephen Fry is not welcome in Japan:
Fry had been due to film small segments of a new program “Planet Word” in Japan but pulled out due to what the BBC described as “strength of feeling” in the country over the comments.
In an episode of satirical quiz show QI, which Fry hosts, he asked panelists to ponder whether Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the luckiest or unluckiest man in the world.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only man recognized by the Japanese government to have survived the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
He survived two atomic bombs but a joke like this is too, too much.
We live in the age of global telly – anyone can be offended at any time…
Posted: 4th, February 2011 | In: TV & Radio Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink
