Fans took to social media to pan and praise the suspension of Jeremy Clarkson, the bombastic and controversial host of one of its most popular programs.
The BBC issued a terse statement Tuesday, to say it was suspending the ‘Top Gear’ co-host after what it called a “fracas” with a producer.
Clarkson, 54, is out, “pending an investigation.”
“No one else has been suspended,” the statement read. “Top Gear will not be broadcast this Sunday.”
The network said it will not make any further comment “at this time.”
Fan reaction varied, from staunch support to calls for him to be fired for good.
@JeremyClarkson leave clarkson alone he's a national treasure.
— david cullum (@wheelerdealer41) March 10, 2015
@JeremyClarkson nooo say it isn't true what the BBC are reporting?
— James Sutton (@Jammersutton) March 10, 2015
Jeremy Clarkson's behaviour is not a surprise anymore.
— Sam (@samewilliams) March 10, 2015
That increasingly odious Jeremy Clarkson has, as they say, overplayed his hand. He's a liability to BBC's international reputation. #BBCNews
— Jason Bournemouth (@EczemaBoy) March 10, 2015
This isn’t the first time that the popular BBC presenter has been embroiled in controversy.
Last year, Clarkson was accused of using the N-word during an outtake on the show while reciting the nursery rhyme “Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe.”
He issued a video apology, but said he only appeared to mumble the word and maintained that he had never said it in his lifetime.
At the time, he said the BBC had warned him that he would be fired outright after one more transgression.
Earlier this year, the show had to apologize after Clarkson used a derogatory term for Asian people while filming an episode in Thailand.
The show has also faced criticism over various other on-air incidents of questionable taste.
That hasn’t diminished its worldwide popularity, however. The show nets more than five million viewers in Britain, and an estimated 350 million more around the world. The show is in its 22nd season, or “series” as they say in the U.K., with its current hosting team of Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
