Jeremy Clarkson has been condemned by the BBC for derogatory references to homosexuality.

The BBC ruled that the comments, made on an episode of Top Gear in July, should never have been broadcast.

Four complaints have been upheld after Clarkson agreed with an audience member that a car was "a bit gay". The controversial presenter also referred to it as "very ginger beer", taken to be rhyming slang for the term 'queer'.

The Top Gear team have reportedly been reminded to avoid using such comments about sexual orientation.

The BBC conceded: "As Jeremy Clarkson supplemented the term 'gay' with a phrase which is rhyming slang for 'queer', there was no doubt that it was being used in the sense of 'homosexual', and was capable of causing offence."

i don't get offended if people say something is gay.

i mean if he were saying something like all gay people are disgusting and should burn in hell i would take offense.

some queers have nothing better to do with thier time than look for excuses to be bitter.

Yeah, he kind of has a history of this. It's made worse by the fact he's working for a public broadcaster too.

"So, they're lowering the age of consent for homosexuals to four, teachers will be allowed to promote sodomy in schools and the Army is to become a hotbed of single-sex fumbling. I therefore find myself wondering. How long will it be before we get "Gay Lanes" on the motorway?" Jeremy Clarkson, January 2000.

No offence, but your post is kind of stupid. If you substitute the word "gay" for "Jewish", do you not see the point?

I really HATE it when people say things are "gay", I just HATE IT ADBKFGNJKHBNHJUG. HATE IT MORE THAN AIDS.

Jeremy Clarkson is a knobend anyway.

well maybe my post sounds stupid because that wasn't in the original post. if you read the post without knowing who this person is or what he has said before, you probably would have agreed with me. if what you had posted would have been included, i would have agreed.

it was quoted he said something was gay. and i really don't know who he is. i would assume he is from the UK.

so yeah. now i can see where the homophobe statement could be taken serious.

you don't have to live with GLAAD always wanting to ban something or calling someone homophobe or wanting to bitch about the most insignificant shit. i mean i get emails every day. about stupid shit. and it kind of takes the effect of the things that do matter. because so much time and energy is wasted on things that have nothing to do with someone's sexuality. and they spend so much time wanting us to hate everyone because we are gay. wanting us not to accept or respect anyone's beliefs.

here is an example. i got an email wanting all people to ban this casino because they discriminated someone for being gay. she was a bartender who happened to be lesbian. she was informed of the dress code and followed the dress code. in the dress code it said women were to wear make up. i mean i know it is stupid, but it is a casino. she decided she was not going to wear the make up or the women's uniform. so they let her go. not because she was gay. but because she decided she didn't want to conform to their dress code anymore. it had nothing to do with her sexuality. and she decided to do that. if she would have followed the dress code all the females went by, she could have kept her job. so we were supposed to rally and ban and hate and ACT UP. it is stuff like that. i mean if we were to protest a dress code. okay. but it really isn't discrimination. they didn't write the dress code to hurt her. it was there and enforced before she got the job. i mean there is stuff way more trivial than this.

but way to be offended by someone calling something gay. this is by the person who left me all the neg reps telling me to get aids and die. it never occured to me you were so sensitive about things.

That's a lovely story. But completely irrelevant.

I wasn't referring to Clarkson specifically, so my claiming your post was stupid still stands. If someone is calling something "gay", they are more often than not going to associate gays with being bad too. It's not rocket science. Like I said, we wouldn't even be having this conversation if Clarkson had said the car was kind of a Jew, or a bit kike. Because it just wouldn't happen.

I left you those reps because it was really funny to me to watch you get so worked up and reply to me in page-long posts. lol.

i don't recall ever getting worked up. maybe once when i was new. i didn't know it was you until i got a paid subscription. then you stopped. when i was able to rep you back.

and the story has relevance. because i don't know who Jeremy Clarkson is. or his background. and just because someone says something is gay, doesn't make them a homophobe. i am not a homophobe. and i say things are gay and use the word faggot plenty. and so do you. you are just a bitter twat most of the time. not a homophobe. and does that make me misogynist for using the word twat in a negative context. NO.

Some could argue it makes you a misogynist. I'm kind of amazed that you don't see the connection between the pejorative use of "gay" and homophobia. Aren't you like...university educated? I just gave you a classic example right there! Moron.

The story does not have much relevance. I was criticising your acceptance of "gay" as an insult, and you went off on some PC Gone Mad!!! tangent. It must be hard not to internalise that stuff in Mississippi

That's nice if you want to re-write history, I guess. But you knew it was me alright. I haven't had a subscription for years, but rest assured that you would have had a whole pile of shiny reds from me over the last few months

haha 4 people?

My car's a bit of a kike. Always kvetching and being tight with the gas when i try to floor it.

I find this statement misandrist

For you i'm wearing my velvet lined rezhvolkes and my fedora.

I like Jeremy Clarkson. Anybody who manages to offend that many people has my respect.

4 complaints? I hate people who complain to the BBC. Just, why?

What a surprise. I can see the headlines now.

'Clarkson in offensive statement shocker!'

Clarkson's an irritating goon. Anyone who pays any attention to what he says deserves to be offended by it.

THATS GAY THEY TOOK OFFENCE AND YES MINI COOPERS ARE GAY !

Just, why not? It's a public service broadcaster. I hate people who are all, being offensive is mega cool and being offended is like so sad. like you, brianmolkoscat, who must think football hooligans are cool because what they say and do would offend loads of people!!! so SHOCKING and out there to resist the PC trends.

WTF clarkson? I didn't know anything about these things, linking the gay age of consent to children being allowed to have sex is age old shit.

Um, nah.

Thats ridiculous. I love JC.

I've got to agree with you here. Although it sounds childish to take offence when insults like this are used, granted sometimes without even meaning to do with homosexuality (which you could argue is worse), the acceptence and use of gay as a negative serves to undermine any 'advances' such as gay marriage. It will stick in your mind that gay = bad/less worthy of respect long after Elton John and David Furnish have divorced.