Will Young threatens 'The Grand Tour' with Ofcom complaint over 'repulsive' homophobic jokes
Will Young has slammed Jeremy Clarkson’s The Grand Tour and threatened to report the show to Ofcom over ‘ repulsive homophobic jokes’.
The singer said in a series of tweets that he’d received no response from complaints to Amazon, and accused the show of ‘shaming’ gay people.
In the show’s latest episode, Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond visit Colombia in a Jeep, which it’s implied by the co-hosts as being best suited to gay people.
Hammond then suggests that to suit it, Clarkson should wear ‘Maybe some nice chaps, suede but ventilated at the back’, with the song It’s Raining Men by The Weather Girls playing later in the sequence.
Young tweeted: “No word from @PrimeVideo so @Ofcom beckons.
“Enough is enough and I’m pissed and fed up. I want Amazonprime and the producers of grand tour to meet young lgbt who want to kill themselves because of shaming and laughter and normalising of shaming homophobic narratives.”
He added: “Your time is up and it’s time to take a stand. Is there a legal case ? Who knows . ……. watch this space.
“I DON’T drive a Wrangler Jeep. I DON’T wear pink shirts. I DON’T wear arseless chaps. You can be honest and funny without this ridiculous ‘lad’ ooh being gay and let’s laugh about it mentality. It’s repulsive and how DARE you do it and put it out @PrimeVideo.”
1. I love cars always have always will. 2. I loved going on top gear 3. Excited about watching new Top gear and I’m afraid 3 heterosexual men SO uncomfortable with their sexuality that they reference in some lame way a Wrangler Jeep being a Gay mans car
— Will Young (@willyoung) January 28, 2019
Hang on they are doing more HYSTERICAL things . Pink roof now on Clarkson’s Jeep AND they are playing ‘it’s raining men’ it’s SO funny I can’t contain myself. I mean being gay is just SO funny for those type of straight men @PrimeVideo
— Will Young (@willyoung) January 28, 2019
No word from @PrimeVideo so @Ofcom beckons . Enough is enough and I’m pissed and fed up. I want Amazonprime and the producers of grand tour to meet young lgbt who want to kill themselves because of shaming and laughter and normalising of shaming homophobic narratives..:
— Will Young (@willyoung) January 29, 2019
Young was not alone in his anger.
Another viewer tweeted Clarkson directly, saying: “Don’t get me wrong, I adore @JeremyClarkson @RichardHammond and @MrJamesMay. But the homophobic jokes have to stop. #thankyounext.”
In response, Clarkson simply replied: “What homophobic jokes?”
What homophobic jokes?
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) January 29, 2019
He has previously come under fire for such remarks.
In 2006, on his previous show Top Gear, from which he was famously fired after assaulting one of the show’s producers, he described a Daihatsu Copen as being ‘a bit gay’.
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