Piers Morgan arguably generated the largest amount of backlash ITV has ever received during his time spent on Good Morning Britain. The fiery presenter is known to be ‘too opinionated’ yet ‘focused and straight to the point’. Over 73% of 16-18-year-olds dislike Piers, but to what extent is it fair to say he has always been ‘too opinionated’?
That Interview
It cannot go unnoticed that over the past few weeks, Piers Morgan has managed to upset a large percentage of our population over his comments regarding Meghan Markle’s mental health, and how he deemed her to be a “liar”, not to mention that he “doesn’t believe a word she says”.
Rightfully, this did anger many people across the nation, particularly members of the younger generation. Questioning someone’s mental health, particularly on national breakfast television, is highly inappropriate. Despite this, however, I do believe it is important to consider what fueled Piers’ anger, which he communicated live on Good Morning Britain.
In a public statement on Instagram after the comments were made, Piers clarified the meaning behind his comments. His real concern stemmed from “disbelief…that she went to a senior member of the royal household, told them she was suicidal, and was told that she could not have any help.”
“Meghan has ‘malicious intentions'”
In a survey that I conducted recently, 12% of 639 16-18-year-olds revealed that they did agree with his views regarding Meghan Markle. One person displayed their belief that Meghan has “malicious intentions” whilst another argued that they too “genuinely believe she was lying”.
It is important to further recognise that Piers, whilst including the mental health claims within his statement, didn’t believe “anything” she said. This further included the race accusation alongside Harry’s family claims.
In light of this, it is also important to note that some of the backlash Piers received via social media after the interview, accusing him of being a racist, were highly false as there was no racist slurs or comments made by him for the duration of his argument.
“THE WORLD’S GONE NUTS!”
A famous phrase used repeatedly during Piers’ debates, one that could arguably be used to describe debates such as those about veganism and the existence of 100 genders.
One person involved in the survey argued that, through witty comments such as “the worlds gone nuts”, Piers adds an “immense level of comedy to breakfast television.” They also went on to say how it allows “people to connect more over an opinion, whilst opening the debate up to a wider audience.”
Throughout the debates regarding gender, it is also important to recognise that Piers is an avid supporter of all trans people, recognising that the process of gender transitioning is both mentally and physically traumatic to an individual. In February 2021, Piers stated that he wanted “transgender people to have respect, dignity, and equality” live on Good Morning Britain.
“Vegans ‘don’t care about the little guys'”
Piers, despite not sharing the opinions of everyone, definitely provided an immense level of comedy to breakfast television. Some of the most memorable of these are the ones made in his various vegans debates.
Despite some people being outraged by his comments, I, for one, found the comments such as how vegans “don’t care about the little guys” so they can still have their “avocados and almonds”, quite frankly hilarious.
It is this element of entertainment that should also be recognised when talking about Piers Morgan. Within the survey, many also agreed that some of his more “far fetched comments” were “simply hilarious”, demonstrating that Piers definitely had the ability to entertain the nation- which arguably was his leading role on the program.
Questioning the Politicians
A defining and more positive moment in Piers’ past year on Good Morning Britain is most certainly his persistent questioning of the government and their handling of the Coronavirus.
Piers has been celebrated and applauded for his handling of the pandemic – which is rightly deserved. Many also argue that he “expressed the opinions that people were too scared to say.”
“Piers used his position, in many incidents, to ask the right questions”
Through his questioning of politicians, Piers gained more respect across the country and addressed the grilling questions. It is only right to recognise that he used his platform as a way to positively impact the country and its people.
This strongly reflects how Piers used his position, in many incidents, to ask the right questions, as well as using his freedom of speech to not only entertain but to also provide the opposite argument to a debate.
Piers Morgan is a journalist who is there to voice the opinion of the public. Love him or loathe him, he provides the nation with an entertaining and often informative debate, through which the entire nation can become involved.
Brooke Heneghan
Featured image courtesy of Roman Kraft via Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes have been made to this image.
Amazing