Piers Morgan is once again getting dragged on social media. The broadcaster is now under fire after his very public comments about Simone Biles withdrawing from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The British television personality was dragged earlier this year after publicly criticizing the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle after she opened up to Oprah Winfrey about her experience in the royal family, including her mental health struggles and racism hurled at her through the media.
Now, Morgan is yet again criticizing a Black woman in the public eye for putting her mental health first, this time aiming his words towards Biles, who is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time.
As Biles’ withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics became one of the biggest headlines in the world, Morgan used Twitter to offer his take on her exit. He wrote on Tuesday, “Are ‘mental health issues’ now the go-to excuse for any poor performance in elite sport? What a joke. Just admit you did badly, made mistakes, and will strive to do better next time. Kids need strong role models, not this nonsense.”
Morgan also published a column on Wednesday morning doubling down on his criticism of the Olympian, before engaging in a back-and-forth with Twitter users calling him out for going after “strong Black women.”
He responded, “I love strong Black women… what it is with you bringing race into this debate?”
After Morgan shared his opinion, Twitter did what it does best. Morgan began trending worldwide alongside Biles and Markle, with users quick to point his tendency to come after Black women.
Malynda Hale tweeted, “I’m starting to think Piers Morgan was rejected by more than one Black Woman in his life, hence his obsession with needing to always speak ill of them. Go to therapy, Piers.”
Another user seemed to share similar sentiments, writing in a tweet, “What will it take for Piers Morgan to leave black women alone…?
Nikki Bowers wrote, “Oh, look you’re writing another column attacking another black woman. What else is new? To me, this is just another example of what a small shell of a man you are. It’s really sad and pathetic that you feel this is the only way to stay relevant. Grow up, get help & do better.”
Many users believe that Piers is using the controversy for his own gain, as he seems to thrive off of the backlash each time he comes for a Black woman.
Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, who had an on-air dispute with Morgan earlier this year over Markle’s sit-down interview with Oprah, shared her thoughts on Morgan’s recurring cycle of abuse.
She wrote, “The problem with Piers Morgan isn’t just him being an obtuse absurdity but that our society rewards him for using his Whiteness, power & influence to stalk and aggravate racism, bigotry & dehumanise mental health of Black women #SimoneBiles#NaomiOsaka#MeghanMarkle He knows it.”
Biles was incredibly open about her decision to withdraw on Tuesday, saying that she decided to put her mental and physical health first.
She shared during a press conference, “Whenever you get in a high stress situation, you kind of freak out…I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being. I felt like it would be better to take a back seat… I didn’t want to risk the team a medal because they worked way too hard for my screw-ups.”
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