There's a massive row brewing in the UK about the notoriously non-politically correct TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who is alleged to have mumbled the n-word during unaired footage shot for his TV program Top Gear.
In the video, obtained by the British newspaper the Mirror, Clarkson illustrates the minimal difference between two cars by saying "Eeny-meeny-miney-mo," and then appears to mumble words resembling "catch a n***** by his toe."
Clarkson this morning took to Twitter to deny the allegations, telling his 3.29m followers: 'I did not use the n word. Never use it. The Mirror has gone way too far this time.'
Afficionados of British slang will enjoy this comment by his co-presenter James May, who tweeted, "Jeremy Clarkson is not a racist. He is a monumental bellend and many other things, but not a racist. I wouldn't work with one."
His denials are cutting little ice, especially as he was recently filmed making a pun using a derogatory word for people of Asian origin.
Clarkson is being challenged on twitter to explain what he did say if he did not say the racially offensive word in the film.
Some schoolkids in the UK still use the rhyme, which dates from the era of slavery, however the n-word has been replaced by 'tigger'.
Unfortunately for Mr Clarkson, the two sounds that are clearly audible are a 'n' at the beginning and a 'g' in the middle of his deliberately obfuscated rhyme.
It's kind of hard to explain - so here's the video, you be the judge.
The BBC has told the Guardian it has launched an "urgent" investigation into Clarkson's apparent use of the n-word.A spokesperson told the paper: "We've seen the story. The Mirror didn't approach us before publication. Clearly we will establish the facts before commenting."
