James May hits out at ‘oppressive’ LGBT flags during Pride as he says 'too much'

James May has hit out at the ‘oppressive’ number of LGBT+ flags hung up for Pride this month as he made a joke about the event becoming 'guilty' of 'too much bunting'.

The former Top Gear and current The Grand Tour star, who also has travel show Our Man In for Amazon Prime Video, risked controversy as he spoke out against what he suggested was an excessive amount of gay bunting on display.

James joked that ‘some terrible things’ like WW2 started due to ‘too much bunting’ in a light hearted post which some people didn’t see the funny side of.

He told his followers today, alongside a photo of a street lined with over 50 LGBT+ flags: “Pride: while I have observed and admired what you have achieved over my lifetime, may I respectfully suggest that you are borderline guilty of Too Much Bunting (TMB). It may be seen as authoritarian, and therefore oppressive.

“Please remember that some terrible things, with which you would not wish to be allied, began with TMB. World War Two, for example. Nice flag, though.”

James appeared to be referring to the bunting of Nazi flags which used to line German streets in the 1930s in a risky joke.

James then was forced to defend himself from criticism of the post, adding: “No dog whistling intended, and my stance on homophobia was, I hope, clear from the post.

“I don’t think homophobes are agreeing with me, I think they’re misunderstanding what I meant.”

But @mythor said: “Respectfully, comparing the LGBT community to Nazis is very offensive. Very disappointed, James.”

James fired back: “I haven’t done that, though, have I?”

But @sebbytaylor12 agreed with James, adding: “TMB is a decision made by councils and corporations. While the show of support is always appreciated, these flags will be binned in two weeks and forgotten about until next year. Unlike the struggles the LGBT+ Community face globally, which is constant.”

James told him: “Apparently, ‘likes’ are private now, so I want you to know that was me.”

James, and his fellow Top Gear stars Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond were never too far from controversy when Top Gear was at its heyday, such as when the trio were run out of Argentina for having number plates allegedly poking fun at the Falklands war - something the trio denied having done on purpose.