11 reasons Piers Morgan won’t be missed by trans people after quitting Good Morning Britain
Piers Morgan, former Good Morning Britain presenter. (HGL/GC Images)
Piers Morgan is leaving Good Morning Britain, meaning trans people might finally be able to tune into breakfast TV without having their lives served up as a punchbag.
Morgan stepped down as anchor of Good Morning Britain on Tuesday (9 March) following widespread condemnation of his continued attacks against Meghan Markle.
The day prior, Morgan angrily claimed he didn’t believe anything Meghan had said during her explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which she revealed she had experienced suicidal thoughts following widespread racist abuse as well as alleged mistreatment by the palace.
In a short statement, ITV confirmed Morgan had “decided now is the time to leave” without offering further explanation. More than 40,000 had complained about Morgan’s comments, the latest in a string of controversies for the host.
Just a few months ago, thousands had called for Piers Morgan to be fired for “dehumanising'” trans people and reducing LGBT+ people to a “mere joke”.
At the time, Morgan furiously hit back in a tweet: “I support those who transition, just as I’ve always loudly supported gay rights.
“But I don’t support the ridiculous notion of 100 genders, and most sensible people agree with me.”
The frequently-offended TV host has a colourful history of irrational irate rants broadcast live to millions on TV, and many of these have targeted trans, non-binary and genderfluid people.
So, without further ado…
1. That time he said Sam Smith coming out as non-binary would ‘wreck’ the Brit awards.
Piers Morgan had a lot to say about Sam Smith merely wanting to exist. (Screen capture/ITV)
Singer Sam Smith came out as non-binary this year – clarifying their pronouns in a touching Instagram post – in a move that coincided with reports that the Brit Awards is considering shelving gendered categories.
“I think it’s great that such time-honoured awards should be just wrecked like this because one [person] can’t decide if [they’re] male or female,” Morgan said.
2. He also said Sam Smith came out as non-binary for ‘popularity’.
Piers Morgan hit out at Sam Smith
Smith, who was so far won 29 awards and been nominated 73 times, apparently had an ulterior motive in wanting to, well, exist. At least, according to Morgan.
Morgan saved a sharp barb for Smith when he slammed the star for coming out as non-binary to net a “splurge in popularity”.
Morgan went onto state that Smith coming out as non-binary is part of what “young people” are doing to “feel different” while also implying that non-binary people are a “trend or a fad or a craze”.
3. When he identified as ‘trans-slender’.
Piers Morgan is under fire for the comments. (ITV)
Countless trans people’s and allies’ eyes began twitching when on live TV when the ITV presenter decided to come out as “trans-slender”.
“I’d like to now announce that I’m identifying as skinny. In fact, I’m one of the world’s first trans-slenders.
“So I will be now trans-slender. So you can’t actually call me fat anymore, because I’m now identifying as skinny. I expect to be afforded the respect that being a trans-slender affords me.”
4. In a perfectly trans-positive statement, he literally called non-binary people a disease in front of two non-binary people.
In front of two trans non-binary people, Morgan called non-binary children a “contagion”, said just “two or three” trans people have died of suicide in 2016, and that identifying as non-binary is a “massive new fad”.
All in one episode. He also lit into the pair by asking if it’s fine for him to identify as “a black woman”, a grotesque falsehood evoked by some anti-trans activists.
Just to clarify, but non-binary children are humans. Not diseases.
5. He showed that the A is for Ally when he explained he hated genderfluid people and thinks they’re ‘absurd’.
(ITV)
In another perfectly fine thing to do with your limited time on this planet, Morgan wrote in the Mail on Sunday that he hates genderfluid people.
What an ally!
6. That time he argued with a pastry shop.
Piers Morgan has suggested that Greggs make its name gender fluid (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty)
Not even a pastry shop sacred to thousands of people is off limits to Morgan, apparently.
He tweeted Greggs earlier this year after it released a vegan sausage roll: “Isn’t it time you changed your name to something more gender fluid & less toxically masculine?”
Considering this was done on January 2, if Morgan’s new year’s resolution was stopping being anti-trans, it certainly didn’t take him long to break it.
7. Piers Morgan’s Animal Planet.
Piers Morgan has previously said he identifies as an elephant and a giraffe. (ITV)
The TV host often makes learning about the animal planet fun and enjoyable, with which animal of the week will Morgan say he identifies as.
From elephants to giraffes, squirrels to “two spirit penguins”, Morgan makes stripping trans and non-binary people of their humanity fun for all the family.
8. When he lost his cool about ‘snowpeople’.
Piers Morgan and an anthropomorphic snow creation (ITV and pexels)
Morgan has been lighting torches and raising pitchforks since Emma Watson received the first gender-neutral MTV Movie and TV Award in 2017.
His fragile masculinity has been on show ever since, often attacking people for being “snowflakes”. However, he failed to see the irony when his rage snowballed against the BBC after the broadcaster said “snowpeople”.
So, he did what anybody would do and unleashed a tirade against the BBC for calling frozen water that fell from the sky that was then moulded into an anthropomorphic shape a “snowperson”.
9. He once said genderfluid people are ‘damaging to society’.
Mary Poppins Returns star Dick van Dyke (Frederick M. Brown/Getty)
What better way to strip trans and genderfluid and non-binary people of their dignity and humanity than claiming they’re existence is “damaging to society”.
Morgan, 54, has, if you haven’t gathered yet, fired many digs at gender fluid folk.
A track record that even prompted 92-year-old actor Dick Van Dkye to have to step in and shut him down.
10. When he treated his interviewees with respect by asking about their genitals… relentlessly.
(Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Morgan has been around the block when it comes to interviewing high-produce celebrities and political figures. But one tactic he has finessed over the years is asking them about their genitals live on TV.
He repeatedly asked Caitlyn Jenner about her genitals during a TV interview in 2017.
That same year, he relentlessly quizzed a non-binary person about their body, demanding to know whether the guest has had an “operation to change sex”.
11. When he said he identifies as ‘Arsenal tragic gender’.
Piers Morgan smokes a cigar whilst watching the racing at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2019. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Comparing people’s right to exist as who they are to animals isn’t the only flex of Morgan’s.
In one of his strangest moves, Morgan once proclaimed: “I’m going to call myself an Arsenal tragic gender.”
Nevertheless, his new identity does have a pinch of truth to it. Morgan certainly is “tragic”.
In a twist of fate, Morgan’s colleagues have donated a tour of the GMB studios as a lot for the charity auction at the PinkNews Awards this year.
It will raise money for the work that Kaleidoscope Trust, an LGBT+ rights charity, does for all queer people including trans and non-binary people all around the world.
