When it comes to offending people, Piers Morgan’s usually got that market cornered. But this week the controversial presenter is the one demanding an apology.
The Good Morning Britain host addressed Little Mix directly after he started a feud with the girlband, saying: “Little Mix, I think you need to make a public apology” .
The argument began when the 53-year-old criticised the X Factor winners for posing naked to promote their new music.
On Monday’s Good Morning Britain, he exclaimed: “Oh God, these people… What is empowering about this? Seriously?
“What’s the point of it? Other than using nudity to sell their album, that’s all it is. Oh it’s nonsense. It’s stripping off to sell records. It’s actually just using sex and sexuality to sell records. That’s it.”
Later in the day, Little Mix were asked if they were bothered by Piers’ comments during an interview on Radio 1.
Band member Jesy Nelson replied: “Of course not, he’s a silly [bleep].”
Present Nick Grimshaw apologised to listeners, saying: “Er, language, Jesy. You can’t swear, Jesy. Apologies for offensive language on BBC, Jesy.”
As she apologised, Jesy’s bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock clarified: “The word she was looking for was idiot.”
Piers quickly responded to the radio interview, tweeting: “If you’re brave enough @LittleMix – come on @GMB tomorrow & say what you’ve just been saying about me on Radio One to my face. Then we can debate your cynical exploitation of nudity to sell records.”
If you're brave enough @LittleMix – come on @GMB tomorrow & say when you've just been saying about me on Radio One to my face. Then we can debate your cynical exploitation of nudity to sell records.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 19, 2018
When he failed to get a response from the group, he brought the topic up again on Tuesday morning’s Good Morning Britain.
The dad-of-four ranted: “Oh Jesy you let yourself down, love, because when you’re doing a campaign against doing rude words, it’s probably better not to use rude words on the radio about me.”
He added: “I apologise to anyone who is offended by the language Little Mix used about me.
“Little Mix, I think you need to make a public apology during your campaign to root out bad language from public discourse – to me! Grimmers apologised to me on their behalf. I didn’t hear Jesy apologise.
“So Jesy, if you’re watching, as part of your campaign, perhaps you could apologise for calling me a [bleep].”
After a debate with his co-star Susanna Reid about his tantrum, Piers added to the camera: “If you’ve got the balls, come on this programme and say it to my face.”
Read more: Susanna Reid reveals she chased armed mugger who slashed her bag
Fans raced to defend the band – who are on the promo trail for their new album LM5.
One tweeted: “Jesy called piers Morgan a [bleep] live on BBC radio 1 😂😂😂 Well she is just saying the truth!! OMG I love jesy 😂😂😂.”
Another added: “Who is Piers Morgan to criticise Little Mix for their body confidence campaign? What has he done to help?”
A third said: “In fairness to the members of Little Mix, there are far worse (and more accurate) things to call Piers Morgan than a silly [bleep] (although obviously he is indeed a silly [bleep]).
Others defended Piers, writing: “#LittleMix could not give a damn! This just a ploy to sell records! I’m with @piersmorgan on this one!”
Some were just amused, with one tweeting: “Well that woke me up, nearly spat my coffee over the TV!!😂😂😂 #gmb @PiersMorgan @susannareid100 #LittleMix.”
https://twitter.com/john_gwilliam/status/1064782227773554688
Another laughed: “PIERS MORGAN JUST OFFERED LITTLE MIX TO GO ON GOOD MORNING BRITAIN COS JESY CALLED HIM A [bleep] IM DYING!”
Read more: Cheryl’s X Factor comeback slammed as “painful” by viewers
If Piers has anything to do with it, this feud could roll on for years. We look forward to him bringing it up again and again.
Are you Team Piers or Team Jesy? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.