'Racist' Clarkson Remark Has Sparked A £1m Lawsuit

We're accustomed to Top Gear stirring controversy, and sure enough, series 21 hasn't escaped unscathed. The BBC is being sued for a reputed £1 million by Indian-born actress Somi Guha for showing alleged "casual racism" on screen. The offending remark came when Clarkson and Hammond were admiring their finished bridge over the river Cock. At that moment, Clarkson says "That is a proud moment, but there’s a slope on it," while an Asian man is seen walking across it. Hammond quickly replies with: "You're right, it's definitely higher on that side."

Confused with what's allegedly wrong with this short conversation? While extremely uncommon in the English language, 'Slope' is a derogatory term to describe people of Asian descent, which has sparked accusations from Guha - and others - of "casual racism." The BBC is yet to comment, but Clarkson has taken to Twitter to respond to the controversy with his usual irreverent humour.

Looks pretty racist to me. pic.twitter.com/fzBtotEsXR

— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) March 30, 2014

This isn't the first time the Top Gear boys have been branded as racists. When discussing the Mastretta Mexican sports car several years ago, Richard Hammond commented "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." The BBC eventually issued an apology, which is how we're expecting this latest controversy to end.

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