Piers Morgan is no stranger to a Twitter storm and he sparked yet another heated debate as he claimed on social media that some celebrities are faking mental illness to secure positive publicity.
Piers retweeted a story, which featured Coronation Street actress Beverley Callard, 61, discussing mental health.
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Beverley told Best Magazine: “I think we are now definitely chipping away at the stigma. But we have to be careful mental illness doesn’t become like a Gucci handbag.
“There is a danger it can become fashionable.”
The 53-year-old presenter then took to Twitter to agree with her comments. He wrote: “She’ll get hammered for saying this, but it’s 100% true.”
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Actress Sophie Turner was one of the first to hit out at Piers for his comments tweeting: “Or maybe they have a platform to speak out about it and help get rid of the stigma of mental illness which affects 1 in 4 people in the UK per year. Please go ahead and shun them back into silence. [bleep].”
To which Piers replied: “Hi Sophie, please don’t abuse me like this – it’s harmful to my mental health. Thanks.”
Hi Sophie, please don’t abuse me like this – it’s harmful to my mental health. Thanks. https://t.co/op9jG8K3PP
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 9, 2019
When pushed to name the celebs he thinks are faking mental illness – suggesting he may want to tell Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to his face – Piers replied: “Sadly I know a lot of well-known people (not The Rock) who’ve jumped on the ‘victimhood’ bandwagon to get positive publicity for themselves. They do those with genuine mental illness a great disservice.”
The Good Morning Britain presenter, who recently riled vegans after pretending to throw up a Greggs vegan sausage roll on air, refused to back down on his stance, adding: “Victimhood is a modern scourge, driven by some unscrupulous celebrities in which people attach themselves to various fashionable ailments to get publicity & commercial/career benefit. I see right through them.”
Another reader, responding to his exchange with the Game Of Thrones actress, wrote: “You should just man up Piers, isn’t that what you usually say?”
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The controversial presenter responded: “As I’ve always said, those suffering from genuine mental illness need proper help & support.
“Those just shirking responsibility for normal life challenges need to toughen up. We should teach mental strength & resilience in schools. This concept is only offensive to snowflakes.”
Do you think Piers is right and celebs fake mental illness? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!