Top Gear feud: George Michael vs Jeremy Clarkson

The BBC has denied a Top Gear comment made by Jeremy Clarkson about singer George Michael was in response to a tweet Michael had made earlier.

Michael recently urged his Twitter followers to tweet a video of a pink Bentley to Clarkson, writing: “I swear this is real. And I sound like Jeremy Clarkson with someone’s finger up his a**e…… )) its a camp classic all round… For the love of God, somebody tweet this to Jeremy and tell him it’s from a Top Queer.”

On Sunday’s episode of the motoring show, Clarkson said, “[The Jaguar XKR is] very fast and very, very loud. And then in the corners it will get its tail out more readily than George Michael.”

That prompted Michael to hit back.

He wrote on Twitter: “Good grief Mr Clarkson, I wasn’t implying your towering heterosexuality was in question. I had no desire to insult you!… But I do now, you pig-ugly homophobic tw*t!!!!!”

But a BBC spokesperson told Digital Spy Clarkson’s comments were a coincidence and in no way a retaliation or response to Michael.

It isn’t clear exactly when Clarkson’s comments were filmed, before or after the first tweet from George Michael.

Clarkson is no stranger to controversy having previously been in the hot water for his colourful comments including snipes at German, Malaysian, truck drivers, disabled drivers and describing one car as “ginger beer”, considered rhyming slang for “queer”.

Top Gear returned to Nine last night in a first run episode but only managed 735,000 viewers.