Ebola’s not a joke, Jeremy
Backlash as Clarkson dubs new show’s racetrack ‘Eboladrome’ for resembling shape of virus
HIS NEW series has been greeted as a glorious comeback after an ignominious exit from the BBC.
But Jeremy Clarkson’s show The Grand Tour has brought with it the familiar whiff of controversy thanks to a tasteless joke about ebola.
The resemblance of a racetrack in his Amazon Prime series to a magnified image of the virus led Clarkson to dub it the Eboladrome.
And the remark brought an immediate backlash from viewers startled by the former Top Gear star’s apparent insensitivity over a disease that killed 30,000 in West Africa two years ago.
In the first episode of the series, released on Friday, he introduces the track on a disused RAF airfield at Wroughton, Wiltshire, as ‘the most dangerous in the world’ because an unexploded bomb is buried underneath.
Clarkson then adds: ‘It even looks dangerous on a map, because as you can see it’s the exact same shape as the ebola virus.’
The track is then seen from above and shown next to an image of the virus – its curves mirroring the bends of the circuit which is owned by the Science Museum.
Clarkson – who is reportedly paid £10 million a year for hosting the show with Richard Hammond and James May – dubbed the track the Eboladrome as he roared around it in a BMW M2.
And while The Grand Tour contained many of the ingredients that made Top Gear such a hit, some fans reacted with disbelief at the latest gallows humour.
One wrote on Twitter: ‘The #grandtour guys named their test track the “Eboladrome” Jesus.’ Another tweeted: ‘Was proper enjoying the Grand Tour… Then it gets to the part with the new track and call it the eboladrome… I mean f****** really???’
Looking back to Clarkson’s earlier career, one viewer said: ‘ The Eboladrome… not sure how that would have gone over on The Beeb #TheGrandTour.’
And at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta – at the forefront of the global fight against ebola – a source said of the joke: ‘It doesn’t sit well with me. It’s a very serious disease.’ Clarkson, axed by the BBC for attacking a producer, also joked in episode one: ‘It’s very unlikely we’ll be fired now – we’re on the internet.’
Last night broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said it has the power to regulate Amazon’s UK output on the internet and it would investigate if it received complaints.