At the time of writing this, I don't know what happened. Was it a fracas? Was it a punch? Who knows. What I do know is that 300,000 have signed the Change.org petition and that #BringBackClarkson is trending. So, what does all that say?
Well, it says that Jeremy Clarkson is a final bastion against politically correct nannying and magnolia presentation amid a corporation that lives in a permanent state of fear of upsetting / offending / annoying somebody / anybody in an increasingly diverse and wildly opinionated world.
Love him or hate him (and just for the record, I'm the former) Jeremy Clarkson is one of the few individuals at the BBC who offers something that the silent UK majority actually want. As license fee payers, we tolerate the middle-of-the-road impartiality. In fact, there are times when this is actually quite a welcome position. BBC News, for example, is one of the best in the world because there is no agenda.
But entertainment? Well, that's all a bit different. The UK public do not, and never have, sat on the fence. They don't sit in the pub or round a dinner table dithering around with grey and pointless drivel. Nor do they hold back on points of view and principles in fear of upsetting the person opposite. No, the British public have a voice. And it's opinionated, principled, passionate, often controversial and, in most cases, behind closed doors.
When the BBC rolls out the benign and inoffensive these good honest folk feel like the world is stacked against them and their values. When celebrities are sacked and suspended for opinions not dissimilar to those shared around a million sitting rooms, one can't help feeling a bit isoltated.
And that's where Jeremy Clarkson comes in. The word 'everyman' has never been so apt because he is, in essence, the bloke who could drop on to a million sofas on any night of the week and join the conversation head on. One of the few public faces to stand against a regime of political correctness which is proportionally over-represented by the most popular channel in the UK. A person who actually has a political opinion amid a wash of voices that perch on the fence. A presenter who calls it like it is. And for the record, I absolutely & catergorically do not think that he's a racist or homophobe. These are deep-seated intolerances synonymous with something insidious and vile. They are not born from a bit of misinterpreted banter.
Jeremy Clarkson is like us. Because we, the license fee payers, don't sit on the fence. We have a political opinion. We call it like it is. And many believe that political correctness is a barrel load of hog wash that ties great organisations and institutions in knots as they navigate an impossible maze of do's and don't.
Irrespective of what the 'fracas' involved, one gets the impression that a certain sector of the BBC has been gunning for Clarkson's head for many years. And why? Because he simply conducts himself onscreen in the same manner as the viewers. By being real. By being himself.
And it's a pretty sad state of affairs when he becomes a target for that.