Piers Morgan admits being a ‘bit of a bully’ after mimicking gay journalist’s voice
Piers Morgan (L) debated with journalist Benjamin Butterworth in 2019 on whether the Good Morning Britain host should should be sacked for his anti-trans comments. (ITV)
Piers Morgan has admitted that he was a “bit of a bully” when he mimicked the voice of gay journalist Benjamin Butterworth.
Last year, Butterworth appeared on Good Morning Britain alongside India Willoughby to discuss a petition to have Piers Morgan fired from the show over his anti-trans comments.
Butterworth, who had signed the petition, told Morgan and co-host Susanna Reid: “The way Piers talks about trans people and specifically non-binary people is that you mock them.
“You make fun of them, you use for them entertainment, you use the lives of real people in this country – a vulnerable minority – as something to make fun of and get a reaction.”
An incensed Morgan responded: “Literally, if you can identify in 100 different ways […] and all this other stuff, then I’m entitled to identify as a ‘two spirit penguin’.
“In other words there are no limits,” he said, before calling non-binary people “ludicrous”.
The debate soon descended into chaos, with the two shouting over each other, and Willoughby interjecting to claim that “most trans people” agree with Morgan.
Morgan then stooped to using high-pitched voice to mimic Butterworth asking why he was so offended by non-binary people.
In an interview with The Guardian this week, however, Morgan admitted that he had “lost the argument” by being a “bully”.
Recalling the debate, he said: “He had signed a petition to have me fired. He was trying to cancel me. That’s why I gave him a hard time.
“And did he win that argument or did he make himself look a bit ridiculous? I think he made himself look a bit ridiculous.”
But when grilled on his decision to mimic Butterworth’s voice, he reconsidered: “To be honest, I regret that. That actually does stray into being a bit of a bully. You lose the argument when you do that. You’re right.”
