Singer hits out at Hammond in gay jokes storm
WILL Young says he finds “Richard Hammond worse than Jeremy Clarkson” after accusing The Grand Tour hosts of making what he regarded as homophobic jokes.
The 42-year-old singer told an audience at the Cheltenham Literature festival that Clarkson was “the least of his problems” and Hammond was the “worse one”.
Young made the remarks as he was asked about the controversy over an episode where Jeremy Clarkson drove a pink Jeep Wrangler in the Colombia special in 2019.
At the time the former Pop Idol contestant sent a series of increasingly angry tweets accusing the show of being homophobic and later implied he might even consider legal action over the jokes.
Promoting his book To Be a Gay Man, he told The Times that he was left “shocked and upset” by the jokes made by former Top Gear presenters in the episode.
Asked about the tirade he surprised so snowflakey’,” Young told the festival audience.
“I [thought], ‘Come on man, take responsibility.’”
When the programme was broadcast in 2019 Hammond, 51, who lives on the Gloucestershire/ Herefordshire border, denied that he was homophobic.
He said at the time: “I entirely reject any criticism of me being anti-gay.”
Young released a series of tweets in which he described the presenters and producers as “pathetic” for the “normalising of shaming homophobic narratives” and said making fun of it was “repulsive”.
At the time he said he loved cars and appearing on Top Gear but it was the kind of jokey banter that alienated young gay men.
During the show in 2019 he tweeted: “It’s SO funny I can’t contain myself. I mean being gay is just SO funny for those type of straight men @PrimeVideo.”
The producers chose to make the main narrative ‘Jeremy Clarkson is driving a hairdresser’s car’ WILL YOUNG