Jeremy Clarkson has gone on a furious rant against cancel culture as he defended under-fire stars Gino D’Acampo, Wynne Evans, and Gregg Wallace.
Italian TV chef Gino, 48, known for his cheeky on-screen persona, is now at the centre allegations from dozens of people who describe his alleged conduct over the past 12 years as ‘distressing,’ ‘unacceptable,’ and even ‘horrendous’.
Meanwhile, disgraced TV presenter Gregg has been accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by several women he has worked with and Wynne Evans is facing backlash for a vile comment he made towards Strictly star Janette Manrara.
Amid the controversy, the former Top Gear host, 64, made his feelings clear as he flocked to the defence of the three stars, claiming they hadn’t done anything ‘illegal’.
Writing in The Sun, he argued: ‘None of them is accused of doing something illegal. They just said something or did something which someone found offensive.
‘And that’s that. It doesn’t even have to be a current misdemeanour. It’s getting to the point where, soon, only Monty Don will be left.’
Jeremy Clarkson issued a furious rant against cancel culture on Saturday as he defended under fire stars Gino D’Acampo, Wynne Evans and Gregg Wallace
The former Top Gear host, 64, let people know his take on the trio being ‘cancelled’ in his latest column for The Sun (Gino pictured)
He claimed that the TV stars have been left out ‘on the scrapheap’ with no chance for a ‘trial’ or to ‘mount a defence’.
‘That’s bad enough when you get fired from a job stacking shelves, but when you have a household face and you are catapulted into oblivion it’s a very different kettle of fish,’ he added.
Gino has ‘firmly denied’ the allegations made against him, saying they were ‘simply not in my nature’ and describing them as ‘deeply upsetting’.
Two episodes of Gino’s Italy: Secrets of the South, were due to be shown on ITVBe between 6pm and 7pm on Sunday, but were replaced by an episode of Abbey Clancy: Celebrity Homes amid the controversy.
ITV also dropped Family Fortunes, hosted by Gino, and replaced it with Wheel of Fortune with Graham Norton on ITV2 last week and again at the same time on Monday evening.
Sources told MailOnline that ITV began to ease out Gino in the wake of the scandal that engulfed the BBC over MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace.
Disgraced TV presenter Gregg has been accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by several women he has worked with, including a Celebrity MasterChef contestant.
The MasterChef judge, 60, has strenuously denied the allegations against him, which include making inappropriate s3xually suggestive comments to female co-workers.
In a statement via his legal team at the time, they said: ‘It is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a s3xually harassing nature.’
Amid the controversy, the former Top Gear host, 64, made his feelings clear as he flocked to the defence of the three stars, claiming they hadn’t done anything ‘illegal’
Disgraced TV presenter Gregg has been accused of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ by several women he has worked with, including a Celebrity MasterChef contestant
Meanwhile, Wynne Evans is under fire for a vile comment he made towards Strictly star Janette Manrara
Meanwhile, Wynne Evans was recorded crudely suggesting a three-way s3x session with presenter Janette, using the hugely demeaning term ‘spit roast’. Janette did not make a complaint against the singer.
Wynne agreed with the BBC to step away from the Strictly live tour and any other work commitments to ‘take some time out’ as the inappropriate jibe looks set to sink his entire career.
Now, the Go Compare star is reportedly planning to ‘take the BBC to a tribunal’ over his ‘unfair treatment’ after he left the Strictly tour.
It has been claimed the s3xual remark didn’t come as a surprise to those in his circle as the comment was ‘known to many of the professionals and celebrities taking part in the tour’.
According to The Sun, the phrase was ‘widely remarked on and laughed at during the tour and became something that was regularly bandied about’, before Wynne was caught.
Friends of the Welsh opera singer told the publication that Wynne is ‘incredibly upset’ no one jumped to defend him publicly in light of the ‘long-running joke’.
A friend told The Sun: ‘Wynne loves to fill silences. He is a funny person by nature and when you are with him he will crack jokes left, right and centre.
‘Some are on the knuckle but it’s nothing worse than anything any 50-something-year-old bloke would say.
MailOnline contacted Wynne’s representatives and the BBC for comment at the time.
Now, the Go Compare star is reportedly planning to ‘take the BBC to a tribunal’ over his ‘unfair treatment’ after he left the Strictly Come Dancing live tour
Jeremy isn’t the only celebrity who has come out in support of the stars, particularly Gino.
John Barowman has claimed TV producers would have encouraged some of Gino’s antics by ‘s3xualising’ the way he appeared on shows.
The actor, 57, said certain television segments – such as when Gino cooked naked apart from an apron on This Morning in 2011 – were likely suggested by producers and likely sparked other behaviour now deemed inappropriate.
John, who has struggled to get work in the industry after allegations of s3xual harassment dating back to as early as 2008 surfaced, revealed he has not got any work in the pipeline due to the ‘false allegations’ against himself.
He told The Mirror: ‘No, you won’t see me. Nothing lies ahead for me because of all the c**p that was said about me, which is not true.
‘It’s the same with Gino D’Acampo at the moment, which is unfortunate because they’re the ones who – the TV shows, and I use this as example – like the one where he’s on the TV show and he’s standing there cooking in an apron but he’s naked.
‘Now he didn’t decide to do that. Production asked him to do it. So they’re s3xualising him in the same way as when I was on camera, and they would do something like, “You gotten be naked. You’ve got to do this”.
John went on to suggest it is hypocritical of producers to encourage this atmosphere of ‘having a laugh’ and then claiming they were not on board with it later down the line.
And Jeremy isn’t the only one to come out in support of the stars, particularly Gino – who has been hit by ‘over 40’ allegations
John Barowman has claimed that TV producers would have encouraged some of Gino’s antics by ‘s3xualising’ the way he appeared on shows
He added: ‘Once that all dies out maybe [I will be back on TV].’
Presenter Richard Osman also waded in on the scandal surrounding the Italian TV chef, insisting people only lose their jobs when there is a ‘pattern of behaviours’.
Speaking on his podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, Richard said: ‘People do not lose their job because they said a couple of things a couple of times.
‘It’s a pattern of behaviours, it’s upset a number of people over a number of years.
‘There has to be a whole series of things that happen it has to go on long enough and for it to be tiresome enough.’
Gino has been rocked by ‘over 40’ allegations of s3xually inappropriate and intimidating behaviour over a 12-year period – claims which he denies.
One woman has claimed that her 2018 complaints about Gino were not acted upon by ITV, while This Morning staff allegedly raised concerns about him a decade ago.
Now, it has been reported that ITV are under ‘increasing pressure’ to explain Gino’s actions and why further action wasn’t taken against him, according to The Sun.
One woman has claimed that her 2018 complaints about Gino were not acted upon by ITV, while This Morning staff allegedly raised concerns about him a decade ago
In response, ITV told MailOnline that ‘where a complaint is made to ITV or serious concerns raised, we will look into it, and if we find that something inappropriate has happened, we will take action’.
Those complaining about of Gino’s alleged behaviour have accused ITV and other production companies of ‘furiously protecting’ the presenter for fear of losing financial investment.
A previous statement by ITV said: ‘All of the concerns and complaints raised by those who have spoken to ITN [the producer of ITV News] describe behaviour which is inappropriate and unacceptable.
‘Most were not reported to ITV at the time. Where issues have been raised with ITV action has been taken.’
