Piers Morgan sparks huge backlash by making fun of Will Young’s mental illness
Piers Morgan has sparked a huge backlash after making fun of Will Young for saying he had mental health issues.
Young, who quit reality show Strictly Come Dancing last year under a cloud of mystery, also revealed he had battled with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The former Pop Idol singer, who came out in 2002, also opened up to The Times magazine about struggling with an addiction to porn and love.
He said he read self-help books and quickly realised: “That’s why I watch a lot of porn, I’m a porn addict. S**t, didn’t realise that.
“That’s what goes on with the love [addiction] thing…didn’t realise that either. I kind of dealt with it all in nine months.”
He told the magazine: “It was important for me to leave Strictly for my own wellbeing,” adding that he had considered breaking his own legs to have an excuse to quit.
But Morgan was having none of it
“Will Young does not have PTSD,” he announced on Twitter.
“He has WNTS – Whiny Needy Twerp Syndrome.”
The chat show host responded to angry replies by saying that mental illness has “become a massively over-used term that damages focus for those with real issues.
“Seriously, is there any celebrity left in the world not currently suffering from PTSD?” he added.
He refused to back down, claiming that he was suffering from the serious mental illness too, but calling it “Piers fed up with Traumatised Stars Disorder.”
Will Young does not have PTSD.
He has WNTS – Whiny Needy Twerp Syndrome. https://t.co/to792xUSul— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 29, 2017
I think it’s become a massively over-used term that damages focus for those with real issues. https://t.co/jNKSzvDXxV
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 29, 2017
Yes. Piers fed up with Traumatised Stars Disorder. https://t.co/14s608Z1iA
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 29, 2017
The tweets provoked anger from people who were not best-pleased with Morgan ridiculing people with mental illnesses.
@piersmorgan Oh sort yourself out, you absolute muppet.
— Amber Kirk-Ford (@MileLongBookS) May 29, 2017
WTH is wrong with @piersmorgan that he feels the need to use his platform of 6million to bully people for speaking out about mental health?!
— Jack Xatzinikolas (@MxJackMonroe) May 29, 2017
@piersmorgan Mental illness can be extremely difficult to spot in loved ones close up. You can’t possibly judge it in someone from a distance.
— Peter Short MBE (@PeterPShort) May 29, 2017
Morgan has a history of criticising and mocking celebrities for suffering mental anguish or illnesses.
Last week, he attacked 23-year-old pop star Ariana Grande for not visiting fans directly after her concert was targeted by a suicide bomber.
Grande said she was “broken” after the Manchester bombing, which killed 22 people including gay fan Martyn Hett, 29.
And earlier this month, he accused Lady Gaga, Madonna, and the Kardashian family of playing the “victim card” for their own gain when it came to mental health.
The Good Morning Britain host has also courted controversy over the past month with his intransigent approach to non-binary and gender-neutral issues.
In one interview, he said that non-binary children were “a contagion,” “two or three” trans kids died from suicide last year, and that identifying as non-binary is “a massive new fad”.
