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Alicia Castor, the ambassador of Argentina to the UK, claims Jeremy Clarkson’s tale about Top Gear’s scandal that recently revolved around an offensive driving plate, is not quite honest. The Argentinian diplomat blames the British TV star of overstating the entire story and forgetting to specify important details such as the fact authorities did in fact help the team safely reach the airport and that the Top Gear team was never really risking their lives, as Clarkson stated.
It was only a matter of days until the whole Top Gear incident in Argentina would reach the diplomatic level, considering the story was extremely endorsed by the media. In case you haven’t heard about it yet, we’ll remind you that the scandal started when Top Gear was shooting a new episode in Argentina, a couple a weeks ago. Everything was working as planned until locals, and eventually the team itself, realized that one of the cars brought for the show, Jeremy Clarkson’s Porsche, was wearing an offensive license plate.
The plate read H982 FKL, which could stand for the Falklands War, a very sensible subject in Argentina. Reports claim the cast and crew of Top Gear had to abandon their cars at the roadside and flee the South American country, after they were pelted with stones by an angry crowd. Days after the team came back in town, fans, the media and even BBC’s producers were eagerly waiting for some explanations.
Jeremy Clarkson had his statement about the whole incident written in a newspaper, as did James May on the radio and Richard Hammond. Later on, Top Gear’s producer Andy Wilman also explained how things actually happened on a blog.
Taking all these into account, it was just a matter of time until the whole thing would turn into some sort of diplomatic polemic, and it did. Argentina’s ambassador to the UK also wrote a statement published in this Sunday’s issue of the Independent Newspaper.
Castro says Clarkson assertion that his life and the lives of his crew were at risk is false and overrated. “Media analysts would surely take an interest in studying the way in which this TV presenter constructs a story.”
“Later, switching narrative style, he recounts another scene: Clarkson claims that a mob was trying to burn the crew’s cars- which I understand did not actually happen - and he goes so far as to affirm that ‘one said they were going to barbecue us and eat the meat’ Clarkson’s imperialistic imagination is remarkably fertile: Argentina has never practiced cannibalism. We do, it is true, eat a lot of beef. But we have never eaten a journalist,” Alicia Castor writes in the newspaper.
Argentina’s ambassador ends her statement by reminding journalists and producers that it’s important they know ruining the good relationships between the two countries “just to get publicity and increase ratings” should not be worth it.
The plate read H982 FKL, which could stand for the Falklands War, a very sensible subject in Argentina. Reports claim the cast and crew of Top Gear had to abandon their cars at the roadside and flee the South American country, after they were pelted with stones by an angry crowd. Days after the team came back in town, fans, the media and even BBC’s producers were eagerly waiting for some explanations.
Jeremy Clarkson had his statement about the whole incident written in a newspaper, as did James May on the radio and Richard Hammond. Later on, Top Gear’s producer Andy Wilman also explained how things actually happened on a blog.
Taking all these into account, it was just a matter of time until the whole thing would turn into some sort of diplomatic polemic, and it did. Argentina’s ambassador to the UK also wrote a statement published in this Sunday’s issue of the Independent Newspaper.
Castro says Clarkson assertion that his life and the lives of his crew were at risk is false and overrated. “Media analysts would surely take an interest in studying the way in which this TV presenter constructs a story.”
“We do, it is true, eat a lot of beef. But we have never eaten a journalist”
The Argentinian diplomat says Clarkson was to busy to make the locals look like savages and forgot to mention the good relations between British citizen in Argentina and the government.“Later, switching narrative style, he recounts another scene: Clarkson claims that a mob was trying to burn the crew’s cars- which I understand did not actually happen - and he goes so far as to affirm that ‘one said they were going to barbecue us and eat the meat’ Clarkson’s imperialistic imagination is remarkably fertile: Argentina has never practiced cannibalism. We do, it is true, eat a lot of beef. But we have never eaten a journalist,” Alicia Castor writes in the newspaper.
250,000 British and descendants live in Argentina
The ambassador also accuses Clarkson of purposely overlooking the fact that there are 250,00 British and descendants of British people living happily in Argentina, and enjoying the respect and friendship of Argentine society as a whole. Castro also adds that there is a community of 70,000 Welsh people living in the very same Argentine Patagonia, just a few miles from where he was. A community who speak their own language, retain their identity and whose settlement is set to reach its 150th anniversary.Argentina’s ambassador ends her statement by reminding journalists and producers that it’s important they know ruining the good relationships between the two countries “just to get publicity and increase ratings” should not be worth it.
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