Jeremy Clarkson slams Brian May's defence of "bastard" badgers

1 February 2023, 15:22

Jeremy Clarkson has spoken out about Brian May's defence of badgers. Picture: 1. David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Soho House 2. Paul CHARBIT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

By Jenny Mensah

The broadcaster has referenced the legendary Queen guitarist's defence of badgers, while talking about the second series of Clarkson's Farm.

Jeremy Clarkson has spoken out on the blight of badgers on farming and referenced Queen guitarist Brian May.

The former Top Gear star has who documented his struggle with the mammals on Clarkson's Farm, and has told viewers not to be "fooled" by the Bohemian Rhapsody rocker's thoughts on them.

Speaking to the Daily Mail ahead of the launch of series two of his farming show, Clarkson revealed it will cover the threat of TB to his cattle and he had to think about how badgers would be portrayed.

"We thought, ‘What do we do?’ because if you want to make a popular show you have to say, ‘Oh, look at the little cuddly-wuddly badgers," he said. “But I thought: no, it’s a farming show, and you’d lose your core audience – the farmers – if you went around saying, ‘Look at these sweet little animals.’”

He added: "So, I actually called them bastards and showed people what they actually do. It’s truthful.

“These are not nice animals. Do not be fooled by Brian May. This is what badgers do. This is how much heartache they’re causing to people who’ve worked for generations to build up a farm that’s been wiped out by badgers.”

It's not the first time Clarkson has referenced Brian May's stance on Badger culling. Back in 2013 he shared a photo of his wall and took to Twitter to publicly call out the guitarist, writing: "Dear Brian May out of Queen. Look what some bastard badgers have done to my wall."

Dear Brian May out of Queen. Look what some bastard badgers have done to my wall. pic.twitter.com/BHUkpwoceM
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) October 6, 2013

Clarkson's Farm series 2 will launches on Prime Video on 10th February 2023.

While badger culling might seem a rather rural debate, the controversial topic is in fact one reason why Queen fans may never see the band at Glastonbury.

Festival founder Michael Eavis famously fell out with the rocker on their difference of opinion over badgers and last month saw Brian May double down on his stance when it came to the band ever headlining or even appearing at the festival.

Speaking to The Sun in a recent interview, he said: “Would I ever do it? No. As the man who runs it advocates killing badgers for no good reason and I could never level with that."

He added: “Have they tried to book us? I think the feeling is mutual so I think they understand how I feel.”