Media regulator Ofcom is investigating whether a recent episode of Top Gear broke its rules after host Jeremy Clarkson used a term considered offensive during the Burma Special, broadcast on BBC Two in March. The programme featured the presenters building a bridge over the River Kwai on the Myanmar-Thailand border.
Surveying the structure as a local man walked across, Clarkson remarked: “That is a proud moment. But there’s a slope on it.” Co-star Richard Hammond replied: “You’re right. It’s definitely higher on that side.” The word “slope” has been used as a derogatory term for Asian people, particularly in the US and Australia.
Equal Justice, a law firm specialising in discrimination cases, accused Clarkson of “clear gross misconduct” and said his comments made the BBC appear “institutionally racist”. The show’s producer, Andy Wilman, later apologised, stating the joke was “light-hearted wordplay” and that they were unaware the term could be offensive. He added that if they had known, they would not have broadcast it.
The Ofcom investigation follows another controversy where Clarkson mumbled an offensive version of the nursery rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe in an unbroadcast clip. The BBC warned him he would be sacked if he made “one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time”. Ofcom can impose sanctions including fines up to £250,000 if it finds a serious breach.
