Jeremy Clarkson has responded to a social media critic with the perfect hit-back after being accused of “talking down” the British car industry.
The former Top Gear star spotted a negative comment about himself in a thread on X asking if he should be considered a “national treasure” and wasted no time in responding.
The original post included a snap of Clarkson, 65 and asked: “Do you think Jeremy Clarkson is a national treasure @JeremyClarkson @ClarksonsFarm1.”
While floods of his supports answered “yes,” one person shared: “Oh, all of you answering yes are forgetting one thing, this man single handedly talked down the British car industry for thirteen years, and all because he could use his ability to mimic the Birmingham workers to get a laugh..!!”
Hitting back at the remark, Clarkson emphasised his passion for cars by writing: “And yet, I currently have two Range Rovers, a Mini, a Jaguar and a Bentley. So er….”
While several applauded his response, the original critic also replied, stating: “All of which are foreign owned companies!!”
The X user also continued: “Yes you certainly appreciate British engineering now.
“All acquired from the proceeds from your time promoting foreign (German, Italian even Japanese) cars.
“During your Top Gear years actually destroyed more cars than caravans in your pursuit of ratings.” (sic)
Plenty of Clarkson fans also backed him up in the comments, with one X user replying: “How does it matter? All are still mainly producing in the UK, maintaining tens of thousands of UK jobs, creating UK tax income, etc.
“Also nothing wrong with calling out s*** quality. Just because they’re British brands doesn’t mean every Brit needs to promote them.”
In a separate thread on Reddit about the X post, another commented: “It’s funny when people get mad at Clarkson for calling British cars c**p as if one motoring journalist is responsible for the downfall of the British car industry…
“How dare he make an honest review of a car, maybe if they were good he would’ve said so and maybe if Rover made a good car in the late 90s people would buy them and they would still be in business….”
“This one I’ll agree with. Clarkson didn’t kill British car industry. The British car industry killed itself by making a slew of metallic rubbish after rubbish,” another argued.
The social media debate comes just weeks after the latest Clarkson’s Farm instalments landed on Amazon Prime.
Amid the flurry of reaction to the new series, several have made demands for Harriet Cowan to return to the popular show.
Cowan, 24, has found herself receiving renewed calls for a comeback to Clarkson’s Farm thanks to a rather worrying update from co-star Kaleb Cooper.
Cowan was initially hired by Jeremy Clarkson to work on his Oxfordshire farm, filling the void left by Cooper as he embarked on a nationwide stage tour.
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Her introduction to Diddly Squat and Clarkson’s Farm played out in the show’s newly released fourth season, and it’s safe to say the Derbyshire-based farmhand and nurse proved a hit with viewers.
However, once Cooper arrived back from tour, Cowan’s expertise were no longer needed, and midway through the fourth season of Clarkson’s Farm, she packed her bags and bid farewell to Chipping Norton.
Cooper even faced calls to be booted from the show by some fans for giving Cowan the cold shoulder, but she has since reassured fans that the two have formed a strong friendship since cameras stopped rolling.