October 1998
While at the Birmingham Motor Show, Clarkson said that the prominent designers of the South Korean-based Hyundai had ‘probably eaten a spaniel for lunch.’

December 2005
During a piece about the German car company BMW, Clarkson shocked fans when he gave a Nazi salute.

May 2007
Clarkson got into hot water yet again when he asked a member of the Top Gear audience if the man would buy a two-seater Diahatsu Copen. The man said ‘No, it’s a bit gay.’ Instead of shying away from the escalating offensive atmosphere, Clarkson jumped right in by replying ‘A bit gay, yes, very ginger beer’ — a rhyming slang for the term ‘queer.’ Both Ofcom and the BBC received viewer complaints that Clarkson’s expressions were offensive to homosexual people.

November 2008
Clarkson was made to give a public apology (which he mocked) when he casually joked about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes. While talking about the constant need to change gear, he complained ‘Change gear, change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That’s a lot of efffort in a day.’
BBC and Ofcam received numerous complaints, and an MP even got involved calling for Clarkson to lose his job. His slack apology appeared on the following week’s show.

February 2009
Clarkson was made to apologize yet again when he described Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a ‘one-eyed Scottish idiot’ while at a press conference in Australia. His apology did not include any remorse about the ‘Scottish idiot’ part of the insult, only mentioning his comments on Brown’s appearance.

October 2009
Clarkson’s comments aren’t confined to live television. In comments he made to the Top Gear magazine, Clarkson accused TV bosses of being fixated by hiring ‘black Muslim lesbians’ on television programs to offset the number of white heterosexual males.

July 2010
In a comment seemingly completely unrelated to his conversion on dangerous driving conditions, Clarkson claimed to have seen a women in a burka with a ‘red G-string.’ How you might ask? Clarkson claimed a woman in a burka ‘fell head over heels’ in front of his taxi in central London, thus revealing her ‘red G-string and stockings.’ This offended not only the Muslim community, but regular viewers and celebrities as well. Lily Allen, who often finds herself in controversial word mix-ups, tweeted that Clarkson’s joke was ‘distasteful.’

July 2010
July of last year was not a good month for Clarkson. Alastair Campbell revealed on his blog a bit of dialogue that was never broadcast on the show, most likely for its racy content. When Campbell said Clarkson wasn’t very sound on gay rights, Clarkson had responded ‘Oh yes I am. I demand the right not be bummed.’

February 2011
Clarkson was joined by his Top Gear partner, Richard Hammond, for this more recent defamatory comment. The pair suggested that Mexicans generally are ‘lazy’ and ‘flatulent’ and then went on to insult the country’s ambassador.

September 2011
Clarkson decided to take it upon himself to describe the Welsh language as an ‘appalling and moribund monkey language’ in an interview for a Daily Mail book review. He claimed the language should be abolished altogether.

November 2011
And most recently — an extra gaffe for our list — Clarkson commented that the public sector workings on strike should be ‘shot.’ While on BBC’s the One Show, Clarkson said ‘I’d have them all shot. I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families.’ Twitter was abuzz after his malicious lack of support for the strike, and the BBC apologised at the end of the show to viewers who ‘may have been offended by Jeremy Clarkson’s comments.’