I went on BlueSky to see the 'tolerant Left's' reaction to Jeremy Clarkson's cancer - what I saw disgusted me

The 66-year-old decided it was time to reveal his health woes as he faced the harvest in 2025, his quivering bottom lip hitting viewers at home like a freight train.

The former Top Gear star has since undergone treatment, and his "spirits are high," according to co-star Cooper.

And girlfriend Lisa Hogan has since confirmed he's back to his old self, playing with new gadgets on his Oxfordshire farm.

The impact of Clarkson's decision to go public with his diagnosis cannot be understated. Prostate Cancer UK promptly applauded the typically stoic presenter for raising awareness of the illness.

And fans and famous faces alike, from Piers Morgan to former PM Rishi Sunak, have wished Clarkson well on his road to recovery.

Reddit was flooded with threads from "sobbing" fans expressing their dismay at the news. The hashtag #JeremyClarkson trended on X within hours of the news emerging as users wished him well, and on Instagram, Clarkson's latest post has been overwhelmed with messages of support.

But what about BlueSky? The social media site that was established as an alternative to combat the so-called "poisonous" and "far-Right" X following its purchase by Elon Musk.

It's become a safe haven - or rather echo chamber - for those on the Left who daren't be exposed to anything that may offend their sense of righteousness.

BlueSky is also a favourite of Green Party leader Zack Polanski. The Economist once analysed 35,000 of the wannabe PM's likes and discovered he'd engaged with several posts from adoring Green Party fans every day since April 2025.

But even though Clarkson may not exactly subscribe to hard-Left politics, surely there was a humanistic outpouring of support?

I mean, in an era where the centre-left vs centre-right two-party system is dead, according to Polanski himself, Clarkson avoids the push further to either side.

It's no secret that Reform UK has surged in popularity in recent years, and Restore Britain under Report Lowe bagged several council seats in this year's local elections.

Both parties are, of course, further to the Right than the Conservatives, and yet Clarkson hasn't backed either and has even publicly expressed why he doesn't think Farage would make a suitable leader.

The 66-year-old has claimed Farage will "solve nothing" if he's elected to Number 10, and gone as far as to suggest the Reform UK leader "scuttles away" from any scrutiny that isn't to do with immigration.

On top of that, Clarkson famously voted Remain in the 2016 referendum, and regularly bemoans the country's fraught ties with the European Union.

So some sort of far-Right, hate-espousing demon he certainly is not.

I won't for one minute suggest he isn't equally critical of those on the Left. Clarkson literally burnt an effigy of Labour leader Keir Starmer in the latest series of the show.

And he regularly takes pot shots at Polanski in his newspaper columns, branding him a "snaggled-toothed vegan" and regularly picking apart the Greens' economic policies.

And yes, he's come under fire from the Left previously for his stance on contentious cultural issues such as the trans debate.

In 2016, Clarkson openly opposed the idea of children's transitions, while in 2023, he wrote in The Times how the trans movement had been "hijacked by lunatics".

He's also faced criticism from Stonewall for his use of language regarding trans people, and has openly mocked debates surrounding the use of pronouns.

But after one quick glance at BlueSky, my hopes that those who preach tolerance may have shared an ounce of compassion for someone battling one of the world's cruelest illnesses quickly disappeared.

In fact, it was decimated within mere seconds.

I logged into BlueSky less than 24 hours after the news broke and headed straight for the search bar, typing "Jeremy Clarkson" and seeing what emerged as the site's "top" results.

What I was presented with was nothing short of vile. And I probably should warn you that what follows may not be suitable for some readers - especially those affected directly or indirectly by the illness.

And bear in mind these were BlueSky's "top" results, littered among news articles about Clarkson's cancer news from the likes of The Guardian and IGN. These were the posts everyone around the world saw if they simply typed his name.

"Jeremy Clarkson has cancer lol," the first that caught my eye, posted by a user who goes by the name "Rita". "Cis woman extraordinaire," their bio read as they hid behind the anonymity of a cartoon profile picture.

Another user by the name of "Cam" attempted a joke. "Jeremy Clarkson might not see your mean posts about him having prostate cancer, but your friends with prostate cancer might... But they're probably not p***ks, so you can just say, 'no, it's fine, you're not Jeremy Clarkson'," they typed.

"Cam's" bio rather alarmingly stated: "We have no compassion and we ask no compassion from you. When our turn comes, we shall not make excuses for the terror." So much for tolerance.

Once again hidden behind anonymity, he, of course, did end the bio with: "(He/him)."

Another anonymous account under the username "The Spectre Haunting Europe" also opted for an attempt at sadistic humour, typing: "My sympathies to prostate cancer for being diagnosed with Jeremy Clarkson."

Their bio was a virtue-signaller's wet dream, complete with "Libertarian communist", "Trans liberation, "Palestine liberation", "he/him", and "sometimes antisocial but always antifascist".

It would be disingenuous to pretend that anonymous troll accounts exist solely on BlueSky. They do not. But perhaps what was more jaw-dropping to me was the disturbing rhetoric coming from those who were happy to put their names and faces to their sickening opinions.

Gareth Watkins is a BlueSky user with almost 8,000 followers, and, according to his bio, has been published in the likes of Tribune, Vulture, The New Statesman, and more.

He appalingly penned: "'Jeremy Clarkson is dying'... So die. He's the one who made a generation of s***ty men even s***tier by making them prioritise childish enjoyment of cars and drowning refugees over being a human f***ing being, so my childish enjoyment is of him getting a*s cancer."

Trans activist and "chartered mechanical engineer who works for a major defence contractor in the UK", Kirsty McTear, similarly spewed: "On the sad news that major transphobe Jeremy Clarkson has cancer…… I’d like to express my deepest sympathy to the tumour."

And BlueSky user and self-proclaimed "capitalism hater" Justin decided to type: "If Jeremy Clarkson wants me to give a s**t about his cancer, then he should try giving even a modicum of a s**t about respecting literally anyone.

"Dude could've died a legend of the automotive world, but instead I'll just remember that he said a bunch of really f***ing dumb s**t. RIP." (sic)

Reading this diatribe of hateful vulgarity genuinely left me appalled. Not even as a Clarkson fan, just as a human. As I dove deeper down the list, it quickly became clear that the sentiment expressed in these "top" posts was overwhelmingly reflective of the BlueSky userbase.

Among the litany of "top" results on BlueSky, I found just one user who, as a trans person themselves, argued that perhaps disagreements on political issues shouldn't render someone exempt from compassion.

They went by the name of "Rosie" and argued: "I'm sorry, but as someone who has so far survived cancer, I can say with absolute certainty that I would not even wish it on my worst enemy. No one should have to suffer through it.

"So he's a transphobe. He's also a human being. When we discard our compassion for others, we also discard a part of our own humanity, and eventually become no better than those who would wish to harm us.

"When we start down the same path of hate as those who hate us, we are doomed to become the very thing we hate, and people will rightfully condemn us for it. I would hope we are better than this."

I would hope so, too, Rosie. But the evidence isn't compelling thus far.

What I was reading - again, I cannot stress enough that these were among the very first posts I read under BlueSky's "top" results - was not just abhorrent, but also seemingly contradictory to the community guidelines the social media site claimed to operate by.

Under BlueSky's own community guidelines, the site's "mission" is "to foster a vibrant and evolving community that respects individual preferences and adapts to the changing needs of our users."

Among its three core tenets were to "empower user choice", "cultivate a welcoming environment", and "evolve with feedback".

BlueSky also claims it does "not allow content that shows or promotes violence, harm, exploitation, or criminal activity against adults, children, or animals" as well as prohibiting "harassment, bullying, hate speech, or discrimination."

"We create a safe space for discussion by prohibiting threats and content meant to scare or intimidate people," its community guidelines state.

"Do not threaten others with death, serious harm, or express that others should be hurt or killed."

Enough said.

I, for one, wish Clarkson the speediest of recoveries.