Outspoken British talk show host Piers Morgan has met quite a number of public figures in his time, but a series of resurfaced old photos showing him with disgraced celebrities have put the TV personality well and truly in the Twitter hot seat.
The former Good Morning Britain host went on to block Twitter accounts from uploading the snaps of him with known sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell as well as other disgraced public figures, including Harvey Weinstein.
Facing backlash for being photographed with convicted felons, Morgan has been asked to explain himself but has fired back saying he was not aware of these celebrities’ sex crimes during the time the photos were taken.
Reminder to all stupefyingly stupid cretins sending me this montage to make some pathetic ‘gotcha’ point: I didn’t know any of these people were despicable sex offenders when these pix were taken. That’s why I’m now blocking everyone who sends it to me – including this berk. https://t.co/ei3vi7NfFz
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 27, 2022
Morgan penned the following Tweet to his 7.9 million followers: “It’s been brought to my attention that I’ve been photographed with a number of famous people and am therefore guilty by mere association with them. I can only apologise for this gallery of shame.”
Alongside the sarcastic statement, Mogan shared photos of himself with respected figures including the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Stephen Hawking, and even the Queen.
However, the impressive curation of photos did little to sway Twitter users’ attention away from the fact that he had also been snapped with Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous right-hand woman.
.@piersmorgan takes great delight in ripping Meghan Markle and Amber Heard (who a panel of UK judges confirmed is the victim of multiple assaults by her abusive misogynist husband) but has nothing to say about sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Do you have anything to hide, Piers? pic.twitter.com/pa4xRqcNWu
— Not drinking the KoolAid (@Kool_Aid_Free) June 29, 2022
Slightly ironic that @piersmorgan seems to be blocking lots of people for their world views, typically more often socially compassionate or due to sharing a picture of him with convicted sex trafficker #GhislaineMaxwell yet he has a show called Uncensored ??
— Mark Turnbull (@markyshearer) June 25, 2022
You have spent the morning bitching, blocking and cancelling people who show you in a photograph with Ghislaine Maxwell and Gary Glitter. And now you’re bitching about people canceling JKRowling. Give it out but can’t take it ain’t a good look.
— skateboardpete (@skateboardpete2) June 27, 2022
While there is no suggestion that Morgan was involved with the abuse Epstein and Maxwell inflicted on their victims, it hasn’t stopped users from criticising him nonetheless.
As of Tuesday, June 28, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for carrying out the years-long grooming scheme with Epstein.
Addressing the court, Maxwell said meeting Epstein was “the biggest regret of my life” and told the victims: “I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you peace and finality.”
In addition to the 20 years in prison, Maxwell was also fined US$750,00 (AUD $1,089,431.25).