Jeremy Clarkson has been heavily criticised for comments he made about the
Australian wildfires.
In his column in The Sun newspaper, the former Top Gear presenter claims the fires are raging Down Under because “God didn’t want people to live there”.
The fires have claimed the lives of 23 people, an estimated half a billion animals have been killed and thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.“He created it as a continent far, far away where he could house all his experiments that had gone wrong,” he writes.
“It was his under-the-stairs cupboard for stuff he wanted to forget about.”
He continues: “Plainly, God is embarrassed. Because he’s decided to set
fire to it.
“It’s been argued the fires raging across the country were caused by global warming or out-of-control barbies.
“But when you look at the footage, you know something biblical is going on. Those things are huge.”
He concludes by inviting Australians to move to the
UK, where “it never stops raining”.
“This has happened before in recent years and there’s no doubt it will happen again,” he writes. “Which means people must accept that Australia isn’t meant for human habitation.
“So if you’re reading this down there, please come home. You’ll like it. It never stops raining. And we are better at sport.”
Many have taken to
Twitter to condemn the presenter’s comments, labelling them “disgusting”, “insensitive” and “stupid”.@JeremyClarkson disgusting write up in The Sun today! Trying to be funny about the bushfires raging across Australia! Shame on you! And by the way, you’ve never been funny! 😡😡😡— Nic Baykaa-Murray (@MrBM1alms) January 4, 2020#JeremyClarkson....what an utterly appalling error of judgement to make light of Australia's suffering. People have died defending their homes...Incredibly stupid.Incredibly insensitive. Is anyone surprised?— john eastman #FBPE#Rejoin(RemainExtremist!) (@talldogman) January 5, 2020My country is on fire, has been for months and fucking Jeremy Clarkson thinks its a fucking joke.— kay 🌻 (@bleusides) January 4, 2020Early nomination for the worst column of 2020. People have died, people have lost their homes and millions of animals have died yet you want to joke about it? Please never come to our great country https://t.co/6NSithrqbU— brad davidson (@braddavo) January 5, 2020How about the fact people lived in Australia for 120 000 years you idiot Jeremy Clarkson https://t.co/GhKD0jdJUL— Amy McQuire (@amymcquire) January 5, 2020True to form, with the fires in Australia Jeremy Clarkson says people aren't meant to live there and that's what you get when you do.Pity he wasn't there himself.— Samanthab1970 (@virgosam70) January 5, 2020British people laughing at #JeremyClarkson’s appalling, revolting, attempt at humour about the #AustralianBushfires - I am very disappointed in you. People are dying down here. Be better, citizens of my ancestral homeland.— Avril (@DocAvvers) January 5, 2020Why is anyone requesting Jeremy Clarkson write a Column about the Australian bush fires? He can’t, and doesn’t, offer any substance or wisdom regarding the situation. A disgusting & monumental failure to be funny at the complete wrong time. Do you really have no compassion? Moron— Jimmy. (@ImJimmyMcCallum) January 4, 2020Meanwhile, Pink has donated half a million US dollars to local fire services in Australia amid the country’s worsening crisis.
The
American singer, who is one of Australia’s biggest selling artists, revealed her pledge of half a million US dollars (£382,043) in a post on Twitter.
“I am totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now with the horrific bushfires,” she wrote.
“I am pledging a donation of 500,000 dollars directly to the local fire services that are battling so hard on the frontlines. My heart goes out to our friends and family in Oz.”I am totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now with the horrific bushfires. I am pledging a donation of $500,000 directly to the local fire services that are battling so hard on the frontlines. My heart goes out to our friends and family in Oz ❤️ pic.twitter.com/kyjDbhoXpp— P!nk (@Pink) January 4, 2020Kylie Minogue, who is currently the face of an Australian tourist board ad, has also tweeted about the ongoing crisis in her home country.
“Humbled by the extraordinary efforts of the emergency services and volunteers in the ongoing bushfire crisis in Australia. @redcrossau @nswrfs @CFA_Updates @CFSAlerts @WIRES_NSW,” she wrote.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has been criticised for his response to the fires, called up 3,000 defence force reservists on Saturday as the threat of wildfires escalated.READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson Launches Fresh Greta Thunberg Attack: 'I'm Carbon Neutral – She Does F**k All' Jeremy Clarkson Labels Greta Thunberg An 'Idiot' And Blames Her For 'Killing' The Car Show Jeremy Clarkson Lays Into
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