Jeremy Clarkson wades into Celebrity Traitors ‘unconscious racism’ row as he slams ‘silly little hotheads’

The Clarkson’s Farm star isn’t too impressed with the claims made by contestant Myha’la Herrold

Jeremy Clarkson has dismissed the suggestion that The Traitors is “racist” after celebrity contestant Myha’la Herrold alleged that “unconscious racial and cultural bias” is embedded within the format of the show.

Ms Herrold’s claims came following her early departure from the celebrity edition of the show earlier this month.

The 30-year-old was voted out at just the second roundtable of the series, shortly after fellow contestant Richard E Grant was exposed as a Traitor.

Her banishment came after castmates grew suspicious of her apparent alignment with Mr Grant, most notably because she delivered a wink at him during his farewell.

Myha’la was the first Faithful wrongly banished from this year’s Celebrity Traitors

Ms Herrold conceded her actions played a part in her departure. However, when responding to a comment on Instagram that branded the programme a “racist show”, Ms Herrold admitted that if it weren’t for her own slip-ups, she’d likely agree.

“I sealed my own fate! And that early in the game there is VERY little to grasp on to, and I gave them… a lot.” (sic)

She continued: “However, I do agree that unconscious racial and cultural bias exists in this game where my authenticity or honesty or the ways in which I choose to express myself look suspicious to people who are unfamiliar with people like me.”

Ms Herrold did defend those who voted against her, stating: “I’m not saying it’s right, I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist, but I do have to defend my dear friends on this show who in no way consciously put bias on me because of my race.”

The former Top Gear host has dismissed the idea of ‘unconscious racial bias’ on The Traitors | GETTY

Mr Clarkson, a self-professed fan of the BBC show, has taken issue with Ms Herrold’s claims. “Sure enough, Celebrity Traitors has been branded racist because – oh, I don’t know – because some silly little hothead on Twitter says it is,” he penned in his latest newspaper column for The Sun.

Dismissing the notion, he continued: “Well now look, whoever you are, in the last series, three of the five final contestants were from ethnic minority backgrounds: Nick Mohammed, Cat Burns and David Olusoga. Sure, it was won by Alan Carr, who’s white.

“But what’s the betting that if he had fallen at the final hurdle, someone on social media would have claimed the show was homophobic?”

And he’s far from the only public figure to refute Ms Herrold’s claims. Former Traitors contestant Nathan Khider, who was himself the first to be banished during the civilian third series, offered a blunt assessment when speaking to GB News.

Myha’la said ‘unconscious racial and cultural bias’ exists in The Traitors format

He dismissed the suggestion that bias played any part in Ms Herrold’s exit, insisting: “It’s the game.”

Mr Khider pointed to Ms Herrold’s own missteps as the clear cause of her departure. “You can’t wink at somebody around the roundtable and not get some heat on you. I mean, it’s so blatantly obvious,” he said.

He added that roundtable discussions last around three and a half hours, meaning there may have been further moments that fuelled suspicion beyond what viewers saw on screen.

He didn’t mince his words as he told The People’s Channel: “Bad loser. Get on with it. You’ve gone into a game, and you have to accept the consequences.”

Jeremy Clarkson is a big fan of the BBC show

The BBC declined to comment on Ms Herrold’s remarks.

Away from the controversy surrounding the Industry actress’s remarks, the show has also found itself in the news for other negative reasons.

Richard E Grant was the first star booted off of this year’s Celebrity Traitors 

It emerged earlier this week that woke bosses were keen to rid the show of the use of “killed” and “murdered” to describe eliminated contestants for fear of offending audiences.

Meanwhile, James Acaster publicly took aim at the show’s production staff for their strict protocol on set. He went as far as to compare the conditions to Soviet-controlled Germany.