Piers Morgan Tried to Whitesplain Racism to Me on TV

Two years ago, I debated the ex-‘Good Morning Britain host — and he was exactly who you’d think

Jeremy Helligar
LEVEL

--

Still from a Good Morning Britain broadcast. Jeremy Heller, a Black man with a shaved head, above a chyron that says: “Developing story. Jeremy Helligar: Writer and journalist,” and in front of a blurred photo of a worried-looking Liam Neeson holding a cellphone to his ear.
Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid interviewed me on ‘Good Morning Britain’ in February 2019. Photo from my personal collection.

This month, Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan clashed on air with three Black people — his colleague, Alex Beresford, and two GMB guests — over his dismissal of Meghan Markle’s charges of racism in the royal family. Royalist Morgan was determined not to let a pesky inconvenience like white supremacy spoil his whitewashed view of England’s first family. In the space of two days, he was roundly rebuked on his show by all three, ultimately quitting GMB.

Watching the trio of YouTube clips sparked an uncomfortable flashback for me. Two years ago, I had my own on-air encounter with Morgan as a GMB guest discussing the delicate race issue. Nobody stormed off the set to cool off, as Morgan did during his heated March 9 confrontation with Beresford. Morgan didn’t resign afterward. Still, I left the London GMB studio that day in February 2019 feeling some kind of way about him.

A GMB producer extended an invitation to me earlier that morning to be interviewed about a then-brewing Liam Neeson controversy. The fallout had started several days earlier when the actor told a reporter how he’d once sought to avenge the rape of a female friend by a Black…

--

--

Jeremy Helligar
LEVEL

Brother Son Husband Friend Loner Minimalist World Traveler. Author of “Is It True What They Say About Black Men?” and “Storms in Africa” https://rb.gy/3mthoj