The word nigger still has pretty heavy connotations in our society so I don't think it would be ok. As you said yourself - context matters. Likewise, I'm not a

The word nigger still has pretty heavy connotations in our society so I don't think it would be ok. As you said yourself - context matters. Likewise, I'm not aware of asians being discriminated in our modern day. That's really the point - I don't have a problem with Clarkson's play on words because to me it's a meaningless sound. And the fact that an asian guy might be called slope/slopes (?) and that's a feature of the bridge is a pun - hence it's funny. They probably make an average of one joke/pun for 30 seconds of the show. Some of them may be unfunny or crude - but unless you can actually demonstrate ill will (simply alluding to the naivette of your interlocutors isn't sufficient) - it's ok.