Mexico wants apology after "Top Gear" tirade
bootlegga @ Wed Feb 02, 2011 8:51 am
$1:
LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - The irreverent British motoring show "Top Gear" has driven into diplomatic hot water after a host branded a Mexican car "lazy, feckless and flatulent" and said it mirrored Mexico's national characteristics.
Mexico's ambassador to Britain fired off a letter to the state broadcaster protesting the show's "outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults" and demanding an apology.
In the episode, host Richard Hammond likened a Mexican sports car to "a lazy, feckless and flatulent oaf with a mustache, leaning against a fence asleep, looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat."
Co-host James May went on to describe Mexican food as "like sick with cheese on it," or "refried sick," while Jeremy Clarkson predicted they would not get any complaints about the show because "the ambassador is going to be sitting there with a remote control, snoring."
In his letter to the BBC, ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza wrote: "The presenters of the program resorted to outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults to stir bigoted feelings against the Mexican people, their culture as well as their official representative in the United Kingdom.
"These offensive, xenophobic and humiliating remarks only serve to reinforce negative stereotypes and perpetuate prejudice against Mexico and its people."
A spokeswoman for the BBC confirmed receipt of the letter and said the BBC would "respond directly" to the embassy.
As one of the most popular and enduring brands on British TV, "Top Gear" is no stranger to negative headlines about its jock-ish behavior and irreverent humor. Focusing on fast cars and ludicrous stunts, its recent guests have included Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, who had to race against each other in a timed challenge driving 1970s clapped-up family cars.
The show was criticized by BBC bosses two years ago for showing Clarkson and May sipping alcoholic spirits while driving.
Mexico's ambassador to Britain fired off a letter to the state broadcaster protesting the show's "outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults" and demanding an apology.
In the episode, host Richard Hammond likened a Mexican sports car to "a lazy, feckless and flatulent oaf with a mustache, leaning against a fence asleep, looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat."
Co-host James May went on to describe Mexican food as "like sick with cheese on it," or "refried sick," while Jeremy Clarkson predicted they would not get any complaints about the show because "the ambassador is going to be sitting there with a remote control, snoring."
In his letter to the BBC, ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza wrote: "The presenters of the program resorted to outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults to stir bigoted feelings against the Mexican people, their culture as well as their official representative in the United Kingdom.
"These offensive, xenophobic and humiliating remarks only serve to reinforce negative stereotypes and perpetuate prejudice against Mexico and its people."
A spokeswoman for the BBC confirmed receipt of the letter and said the BBC would "respond directly" to the embassy.
As one of the most popular and enduring brands on British TV, "Top Gear" is no stranger to negative headlines about its jock-ish behavior and irreverent humor. Focusing on fast cars and ludicrous stunts, its recent guests have included Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, who had to race against each other in a timed challenge driving 1970s clapped-up family cars.
The show was criticized by BBC bosses two years ago for showing Clarkson and May sipping alcoholic spirits while driving.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/mexico-wants-a ... 3-129.html
Classy!
raydan @ Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:42 am
Agreed, Boot.
And one other thing... the British should never criticize anybody else's "cuisine". 
xerxes @ Wed Feb 02, 2011 5:50 pm
I love Top Gear but even I thought that was over the line for those guys.
EyeBrock @ Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:55 pm
Oh boo hoo.
Everybody takes the piss out of the lack of British dental care, Scottish miserliness, Irish drunkenness and English pompous stiff upper lip. We can take a joke, bollocks to Mexico.
RUEZ @ Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:27 pm
I apologize to Mexico. I'm sorry you care what some men on a TV show think about you.
ShepherdsDog @ Wed Feb 02, 2011 8:25 pm
....now go back to sleep.
Guy_Fawkes @ Wed Feb 02, 2011 8:35 pm
ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:
....now go back to sleep.
Barilko @ Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:12 pm
Mexican food is outstanding fare.
martin14 @ Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:25 am
EyeBrock EyeBrock:
Oh boo hoo.
Everybody takes the piss out of the lack of British dental care, Scottish miserliness, Irish drunkenness and English pompous stiff upper lip. We can take a joke, bollocks to Mexico.
Everybody takes the piss out of the lack of British dental care, Scottish miserliness, Irish drunkenness and English pompous stiff upper lip. We can take a joke, bollocks to Mexico.
No shit, maybe they should watch show more often and see how badly they
criticize the UK.
Or remember the episode in the Deep South of the US ?
Methinks they doth protest too much, but hey, more publicity for TG !
'sick with cheese on it'
ShepherdsDog @ Thu Feb 03, 2011 12:46 am
Barilko Barilko:
Mexican food is outstanding fare.
Your palate doesn't get out much does it? What most Canadians/Americans think of as Mexican food was developed in the States.
Barilko @ Thu Feb 03, 2011 8:02 am
ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:
Barilko Barilko:
Mexican food is outstanding fare.
Your palate doesn't get out much does it? What most Canadians/Americans think of as Mexican food was developed in the States.I think it's you who doesn't get out much-I've travelled/worked and lived in Mexico off and on for over 25 years now-from Chihuahua to Chiapas.
I agree that what's on offer in most places outside Mexico doesn't always reflect the quality diversity and freshness of Mexican cuisine but you could make that argument about any place/food.
Chinese food in both Tonga and Costa Rica is a horror show but that doesn't mean all Chinese cooking is awful.
Tricks @ Thu Feb 03, 2011 8:23 am
What a wonderful show.
DrCaleb @ Thu Feb 03, 2011 8:43 am
martin14 martin14:
No shit, maybe they should watch show more often and see how badly they
criticize the UK.
Or remember the episode in the Deep South of the US ?
Methinks they doth protest too much, but hey, more publicity for TG !
'sick with cheese on it'
criticize the UK.
Or remember the episode in the Deep South of the US ?
Methinks they doth protest too much, but hey, more publicity for TG !
'sick with cheese on it'
+1. The Mercedes car nav systems that always route the driver through Poland is one of the best ones yet. And the ongoing 'Lorrie driving serial killers' (because it's actually true in the UK).
This 'Mexican' thing might be over the top, but 'Top' is half the name of the show.
Regina @ Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:25 am
Possibly we could get an apology from Mexico for killing or raping our tourists?
raydan @ Thu Feb 03, 2011 9:34 am
Regina Regina:
Possibly we could get an apology from Mexico for killing or raping our tourists?
Well at least they didn't insult them before they killed them.