Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson is being sued by a senior BBC producer for racial discrimination.
A closed-door hearing with the producer Oisin Tymon took place at a London employment tribunal on Friday, reports Bloomberg, lawyers for Clarkson and the BBC were present.
An internal report by the BBC in March concluded that Clarkson verbally abused Tymon before physically attacking him for 30 seconds. The host of the popular automobile show was later dropped from the program.
“During the physical attack Oisin Tymon was struck, resulting in swelling and bleeding to his lip,” said a BBC director, Ken MacQuarrie, after the corporation’s investigation. “The verbal abuse was sustained over a longer period, both at the time of the physical attack and subsequently.”
In March, The Mirror claimed that before punching the producer, Clarkson allegedly called Tymon a “lazy, Irish c***” at a hotel in Yorkshire.
This is not the first time Clarkson has been accused of racism. In 2014, Clarkson uttered the N-Word while reciting the rhyme “Eenie Meenie Minee Mo” in a Top Gear outtake.
Clarkson’s notoriety has not put off Amazon, which has hired him to do a new motoring shows and is using him for publicity.
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