Jeremy Clarkson has irritated several Oxfordshire villagers, leading him to apologise for his statements.
The 62-year-old TV host referred to the villagers as “morons” in an episode of Clarkson’s Farm, which they were not thrilled with.
Clarkson talks to residents in Chadlington, West Yorkshire, who were dissatisfied with how his farm and farm store had harmed the area’s natural beauty in episode three of the new season, which debuted on Amazon Prime Video earlier this month.
‘The lady from the parish council says people who are upset are genuinely angry,’ the former Top Gear host adds to the camera. I mean, really furious.’
He then claims that the online Chadlington community board ‘essentially declares that I’m the devil,’ and that he doesn’t want everyone coming up to his front door with pitchforks.
So he organised a Q&A session in the hopes of resolving the issue and relieving the strain.
He serves wine and different appetisers to residents in a hall.
‘We were completely overwhelmed by what happened when the show first aired,’ he says to those in attendance.
‘Traffic and mud and chaos and speeding. Absolute nightmare, I agree. So how can we make this look great and bring people to the area so they can spend but not spoil anybody’s life in the village?’
One villager wasn’t afraid to make their feelings known, responding with some harsh words for the controversial star.
‘You have shown no sympathy or empathy with the people who live in the village,’ they hit out.
‘You’ve described us as morons. You said, “Every village has one moron, I have six.” I don’t want to be called a moron and I think you should apologise for that.’
Apologising, Clarkson replies: ‘You don’t sound moronic at all and your points are valid.’
But, he also argued: ‘Some of the points raised on the West Oxfordshire District Council website, however, were moronic.’
‘That lambing barn has never been used for lambing,’ Clarkson states.
‘”Nothing is being produced on that farm”? These things are silly things to say because obviously we do produce things on the farm.’
The first villager was not the only one who had some criticism for Clarkson.
‘But the fact is that ultimately you’re not a farmer, you’re a media personality. But we’re not Love Island,’ they blasted.
True enough, most of the remainder of the discussion wasn’t featured in Clarkson’s show, but he closed by resolving to clear up his site and look into traffic control.
Clarkson also provides VIP credentials and discounts to the locals at his business.
Clarkson has made news recently for all the wrong reasons, thanks to his scathing remarks about the Duchess of Sussex.
Despite this, his comments on Meghan Markle appear to have had little effect on his ratings, as Clarkson’s Farm shattered records.
His programme has now grown in popularity, becoming Amazon’s most-watched original show in the United Kingdom (from since a ratings body began collecting data for major streaming sites).
Clarkson’s Farm is available to watch on Prime Video.