{"id":131397,"date":"2025-11-12T16:18:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T16:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/131397\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T16:18:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T16:18:09","slug":"ricky-gervais-takes-swipe-at-jeremy-clarkson-after-launching-own-british-farming-backed-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/131397\/","title":{"rendered":"Ricky Gervais takes swipe at Jeremy Clarkson after launching own British farming-backed project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Jeremy Clarkson has inadvertently found himself in the firing line of comedian Ricky Gervais, who spotted the perfect chance to mock the former Top Gear host online.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Clarkson, 65, has ditched the world of motoring TV for a more idyllic and slow-paced life on his Oxfordshire farm in recent years, becoming somewhat of a poster boy for British farming after shining a spotlight on the plight farmers face.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"0d603\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"e02b488ab12e34c19959293ce50c42bc\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%204960%203307'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762964288_972_ricky-gervais.jpg\" width=\"4960\" height=\"3307\" alt=\"Ricky Gervais\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Ricky Gervais <\/p>\n<p> | PA<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Clarkson&#8217;s Farm star Mr Clarkson has faced his fair share of obstacles with his own drinks projects too, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gbnews.com\/celebrity\/jeremy-clarkson-online-troll-hawkstone-lager-twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">such as exploding bottles of cider<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, while Mr Clarkson launched his own drinks brand, Hawkstone, as part of his foray into the world of agriculture, he&#8217;s not the only former Top Gear star to join Mr Gervais in the beverage industry.<\/p>\n<p>James May has also founded and launched his own gin brand, going head-to-head with Mr Gervais&#8217;s vodka and Mr Clarkson&#8217;s beer products in the alcoholic beverage market.<\/p>\n<p>And it was former The Grand Tour host Mr May who prompted a rather cheeky dig from Mr Gervais towards Mr Clarkson after they interacted on the social media platform X. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"9b1aa\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"5ac644ee64830f0c5bcb313b3c20debd\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%206048%204024'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762964288_522_clarkson-s-farm-season-4-jeremy-clarkson.jpg\" width=\"6048\" height=\"4024\" alt=\"Clarkson's Farm season 4: Jeremy Clarkson\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jeremy Clarkson at Diddly Squat <\/p>\n<p> | AMAZON<\/p>\n<p>The swipe came after Mr Gervais had taken to X to promote his Dutch Barn Vodka and the donkey charity it supports with every sale.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;To celebrate the long-awaited return to common sense and reason, why not treat yourself to some Dutch Barn Vodka. It also helps donkeys. And they never hurt anyone,&#8221; Mr Gervais penned to his 14.5 million followers.<\/p>\n<p>Inevitably, fans rushed to share their praise for the charitable cause and the product itself, although Mr May opted for a rather humorous approach.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I love donkeys, but one of them bit me on the arm when I was eight years old, and it hurt like a b*****d. But you do you,&#8221; he typed, before spotting the chance to capitalise on the interaction by signing off: &#8220;James Gin.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Maybe it was hungry. Clarkson actually punched someone in the face when he was peckish\ud83d\ude02<br \/>Ricky Vodka.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rickygervais\/status\/1988342642321555514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">November 11, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Mr Gervais quickly replied with a tongue-in-cheek nod to Mr May&#8217;s former co-star. &#8220;Maybe it was hungry. Clarkson actually punched someone in the face when he was peckish [laughing emoji]. Ricky Vodka,&#8221; he replied.<\/p>\n<p>The Derek star was, of course, referring to the infamous incident that led to Mr Clarkson&#8217;s Top Gear departure. He punched producer Oisin Tymon in early 2015, and the two settled a legal case about the incident a year later.<\/p>\n<p>Mr May hasn&#8217;t replied to Mr Gervais&#8217;s quip at the time of writing. However, several of the duo&#8217;s fans did rush to react, with many overjoyed to see two of their favourite public figures interact.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;OK, it is legendary when James May and Ricky Gervais are going back-and-forth about their different alcohols,&#8221; one X user replied, while a second echoed: &#8220;Oh my God, this is like watching Hemingway exchanging tweets with Bukowski about booze! What a pair of superstars, love it!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"6dd4c\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"3a2f625b51c56a3f3ff670fef54be1cd\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%202000%201500'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/james-may.jpg\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" alt=\"James May\"\/><\/p>\n<p>James May worked with Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear and The Grand Tour<\/p>\n<p> | PA<\/p>\n<p>Elsewhere, a third sarcastically pleaded: &#8220;Guys, please stop. It&#8217;s like my two best friends meeting for the first time at a party, and one is drinking gin and the other drinking vodka and are now having a go at each other.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What an interaction. What a time to be alive,&#8221; a fourth put, before a fifth weighed in: &#8220;Let&#8217;s not forget that stuff like this exchange IS the only real reason we need social media.&#8221; (sic)<\/p>\n<p>While Mr Clarkson&#8217;s foray into the farming world is well-known thanks to the global success of Clarkson&#8217;s Farm, Mr Gervais has kept his new career venture restricted to social media.<\/p>\n<p>He announced the move last, saying in a video shared on X: \u201cI am thrilled to announce I am now co-owner of Ellers Farm Distillery and we make Dutch Barn Vodka.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"79f1e\" data-rm-shortcode-id=\"492ecfdde55410e120a0cddfd17f6337\" data-rm-shortcode-name=\"rebelmouse-image\" class=\"rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image \" lazy-loadable=\"true\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%203000%201996'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-runner-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/clarkson-s-farm-jeremy-clarkson.jpg\" width=\"3000\" height=\"1996\" alt=\"Clarkson's Farm: Jeremy Clarkson\"\/>Jeremy Clarkson also runs his own pub | AMAZON<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt tastes great, it is made from British apples, and we\u2019re committed to sustainability and protection of the ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ellers Farm Distillery uses only British produce and states on its website: \u201cThe foundation of our story is built on the simple principle of balancing people, planet, and profit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe understand that restoring and protecting our planet and treating people with respect is for the good of everyone. But let\u2019s remember that we\u2019re building a distillery and intend to have a little bit of fun along the way!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur intention is to produce spirits that are the best for the world while being the world\u2019s best. And we\u2019ll do it all with smiles on our faces and a glass in our hands!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jeremy Clarkson has inadvertently found himself in the firing line of comedian Ricky Gervais, who spotted the perfect&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,3623,14185,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-131397","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-celebrity","10":"tag-clarksons-farm","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}