James May hits back at The Grand Tour complaint as livid viewer rips into Sand Job special episode

THE Grand Tour host James May has hit back at a fan complaint who offered up some choice words for the star.

James, 61, has been back on screens with his co-stars Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson in the latest Grand Tour special on Amazon Prime titled Sand Job.

The feature-length episode features the trio on a road trip through Mauritania in West Africa but James has come under fire for a recent joke on the programme.

Sand Job is the programme's penultimate episode after the hosts decided to take a step back from the programme.

However, they have managed to cause even more controversy just in the nick of time.

One disgruntled fan was left moaning at James on X - formerly Twitter - over comments that he made about the US state of Florida on the programme.

During the episode, James visited a local library where a tour guide offered up some explanations as to what the TV presenter was reading.

The tour guide recalled when an American visitor attempted to buy one of the ancient tests from the librarian, saying: "He said an American tourist visited the library and he asked him to sell him the book.

"Then he told him if he would sell it, he's gonna give him a house in Florida, and he said no. It's the legacy of his great-grandparents."

Responding, James quipped: "I think you did the right thing. You don't want a house in Florida. It's all hot and sticky and full of people with guns."

The comment left one fan unhappy as they hit out at James online.

They were responding to a post in which James poked fun at his choice of vehicle on The Grand Tour episode.

James said online: "Now that Sand Job is out I can make the formal announcement that, I imagine, many of you have been expecting...

"Yes, my Maser [Maserati] was the best looking by a desert mile. Deal with it."

However, one reply read: "'You don’t want to live in Florida, it’s hot and muggy and people there have guns'. People being free must be an issue with you. Kiss your crown."

James appeared perplexed by the comment as he said:  "How am I less free?"

The star's followers soon leaped to his defence as they backed him on the social media platform.