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Telegraph reporter claims Jeremy Clarkson has ASD

Wireless

Well-Known Member
As some of you may know Jeremy Clarkson is a presenter on Top Gear. He often makes rude and hurtful comments. This reporter from the Telegraph claims he could be autistic. I find that hard to believe. Very hard.

Sympathy for the devil: why I feel sorry for Clarkson

What do you guys think?

My first reaction is irritation with this reporter. Why suggest autism because someone is rude and obnoxious all of the time?
 
It takes all sorts lol

I personally do not watch this program, but from the description, he could well be, but who knows!

As for saying things inappropriately; I know some people who are pretty blunt, but they are not aspies.

I tend to say surprising things, because I cannot get what I want to say and thus, come out with it the wrong way around and get the shocked looks, but thankfully, doesn't happen that often; mainly when I am sinking in a room of unknown faces.

Going back to Clarkson; being rude is only part of what I read: his annoyance if things are not done on time etc and apparently his obsession to detail and well, even though I have not heard him, he probably voices what many of us think, but are well tuned into what is right and what is wrong to say.

There are many people who are blunt and have obsessions etc, but it is when they are grouped together, now that is when the question of autism should be thought about, well to my mind anyway.
 
I used to watch Top Gear when I was younger and have seen Jeremy Clarkson in other TV programmes. I have never seen him exhibit autistic traits before. In my opinion, I don't think that he may have an ASD at all.
 
I want to apologize if I sounded too quick judge and say no way is Clarkson is an aspie. Who knows? Not me.
As I said my irritation was aimed at the article. I just don't feel right about ASD being suggested so easily when there could be so many other reasons for Clarkson being Clarkson. It seems misleading because we can't know for certain.
I hope I haven't upset anyone.
 
I don't know who this Bill Burrows or Jeremy Clarkson is, but Burrows is just a pot calling a kettle black. Articles like these really don't deserve the attention given to them, they just throw around "shocking" words just to get ratings. They're just a waste of bytes and vying for attention that needs to be ignored. If Bill Burrows happens by this thread and then gets horribly offended because I "live in a cave" and feel I have better things to do with my life than listen to him gossip about the latest tantrum he saw, then I am truly sorry that he is so needy and fragile. May he get the help he needs so he no longer thinks the world revolves around him and his social circle.
 
Too bad a fellow member of the press rather than academia can't write an article about how the media is contributing to the stigmatization of autism.

Could make for some interesting reading.
 
I am not sure what you are asking, how I feel about the article or Jeremy Clarkson. I have not read this article but I am aware of what's happened to Jeremy Clarkson. In that regard, I answer that I am a huge fan of his and I think there's not a mean bone in his body - to use the odd expression. I think he makes fun of everyone and, in fun. He makes fun of himself constantly. In my opinion, it's not the words but the intent of the speaker. I hear many people use the most polite words and they show no respect, sensitivity or awareness. I dislike those people the most.

Within groups people call each other all sorts of things they don't say publicly. My friends and I say things that would be outrageous if not understood in context. We are actually satirizing the terms. I think the show is all inclusive and very funny. I think the same of Mr. Clarkson. He has my full support. I do not know if this is answers your question.
 
Too bad a fellow member of the press rather than academia can't write an article about how the media is contributing to the stigmatization of autism.

Totally agree - there seems to be a disturbing trend recently in the media to label people with Asperger's on the flimsiest, contrived evidence - Jeremy Clarkson, Vladimir Putin. It just contributes to general ignorance as evidenced by some of the comments below the article.

I think this article is as discriminatory against people with autism as the Clarkson quotes included are against other groups. It feels like it's no longer OK for journalists to label people as mentally ill (which is a good thing) so now they're labelling them with Asperger's or autism.
 
well im a big top gear fan grew up with it I even signed the petition for him to stay first things first does he have any children diagnosed with it or something similar.
 
I would question this article, on the basis of inaccuracy of basic facts; Repton School was founded in 1557 and is recognised as one of the UK's foremost educational institutions. if Clarkson attended there he was definitely from a privileged background.

If they have got the research wrong on this, what is there to suggest that any other part of the article is any more accurate?
 
I never got the impression Clarkson's Aspergic. Boorish and buffoonish, perhaps. And though I do enjoy TG, just on a personality level I could easily do without him, so I'm kind of ambivalent about his firing... except for one thing, and that is that he is just such an amazing writer/presenter. The man knows how to tell a tale. If you haven't seen them, look up the YouTube vids of his documentaries, The Victoria Cross:For Valour and The Greatest Raid of All. They made me so proud to be British. And I'm American.
 
As a huge fan of the show; there's no way he has Aspergers. He did the interviews and it was very obvious he's socially skilled. He interviewed dozens of people, of a wide range of personalities (some of them, I've suspected, are Aspies), and not once did he ever let the interview get boring or awkward. He's also handled himself very well on shows like Q.I. and the Graham Norton Show.

I would question this article, on the basis of inaccuracy of basic facts; Repton School was founded in 1557 and is recognised as one of the UK's foremost educational institutions. if Clarkson attended there he was definitely from a privileged background.

If they have got the research wrong on this, what is there to suggest that any other part of the article is any more accurate?

It's a popular Top Gear factoid that his parents, despite being working class, did everything they could to get him into a high-end school. They would get him in without knowing how to pay and would come up with the money at the last second.

They do misrepresent some of the incidences at the end of the article. For example, the Argentina incident. The license plate was issued in 1993, according the Brit equivalent of CarFax. And the Mexico incident was caused by Richard Hammond.
 
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As a huge fan of the show; there's no way he has Aspergers. He did the interviews and it was very obvious he's socially skilled. He interviewed dozens of people, of a wide range of personalities (some of them, I've suspected, are Aspies), and not once did he ever let the interview get boring or awkward. He's also handled himself very well on shows like Q.I. and the Graham Norton Show.



It's a popular Top Gear factoid that his parents, despite being working class, did everything they could to get him into a high-end school. They would get him in without knowing how to pay and would come up with the money at the last second.

They do misrepresent some of the incidences at the end of the article. For example, the Argentina incident. The license plate was issued in 1993, according the Brit equivalent of CarFax. And the Mexico incident was caused by Richard Hammond.

I personally know the area of Doncaster in which he was raised- the average property prices there are almost double those in the rest of the town. hardly fits in with his purported working class roots? In 1960 in Britain the son of a travelling salesman and teacher may not even have been considered working class.
 
Wouldn't surprise me if one of the THE most overpaid jokes in TV is on the spectrum.

The man's a complete idiot, anyone else who belted his producer would never work in TV again, but because of all the Top Gear fanboys, he now has a VERY lucrative show on Amazon Prime Video (which I never watch by the way).
 
Totally agree with Mr Allen. Clarkson (IMHO) is an absolute ignorant buffoon. He likes fox hunting for a start. He comes across as arrogant, obnoxious, self centred and dismissive of others and whilst you are able to find these traits in HFA men to some degree i'm sure, i just get the impression that he actually enjoys the type of person who he is.

No way is he ASD in my opinion.

Not only that but he is actually from the same town as me originally and from the next village i grew up in! More's the pity.
 
Wouldn't surprise me if one of the THE most overpaid jokes in TV is on the spectrum.

The man's a complete idiot, anyone else who belted his producer would never work in TV again, but because of all the Top Gear fanboys, he now has a VERY lucrative show on Amazon Prime Video (which I never watch by the way).
What are your arguments for thinking he might be on the spectrum?
 

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