Jeremy Clarkson criticised after saying Greta Thunberg deserves a ‘smacked bottom’

Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has been criticised after writing a controversial column about the climate activist Greta Thunberg.

In Clarkson’s column in The Sunday Times, the 61-year-old broadcaster shared his thoughts on the 18-year-old Swedish climate change activist Thunberg, describing her an “annoying bucket of ego”.

Thunberg has been in Glasgow recently as the COP26 summit takes place in the Scottish city. She has joined other climate activists to protest in the city and has called the summit a “failure”.

Her passion seems to have riled Clarkson, as he wrote in his column: “I simply don’t get the Thunberg phenomenon.

“She has no knowledge of how the world works, no manners and no letters after her name because instead of going to school, she’s been busy sailing round the world so she can be mardy and abusive to grown-ups.

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“What she needs is a smacked bottom.”

While Clarkson did agree with some of Thunberg’s opinions, such as COP26 being a waste of time, and he also received praise from people on Twitter who agreed with his take, some of his questionable comments have come under fire.

Someone on Twitter wrote: “ 61year old Jeremy Clarkson calling for 18 year old Greta Thunberg to have her bottom smacked deserves a far more WTAF???? response than it got.

“Middle aged white men using column inches to have pops at a young girl who is concerned about the environment is just fucking weird.”

Another person said: “There’s a creepy shivery dirty old man weirdness to Jeremy Clarkson’s attempt at humour this week in his rage at Greta Thunberg!”

Journalist Ross McCarthey wrote: “Today Jeremy Clarkson said Greta Thunberg ‘needs a smacked bottom’.

“Real normal shit.”

Here’s how other people reacted:

Indy100 has contacted Jeremy Clarkson and The Sunday Times to comment on this story.