Piers Morgan has been reminded of his own past behaviour following his comments about tennis superstar Naomi Osaka.
The former daytime TV presenter weighed in after Osaka announced she would not be speaking to the press during the French Open tournament to protect her own mental health. Osaka has since confirmed she will no longer be taking part in the competition.
Revealing on Monday afternoon that he’d penned a column on the matter, Piers shared a tweet referring to Osaka as “world sport’s most petulant little madam”.
My new @DailyMail column is about Naomi Osaka, world sport's most petulant little madam. Posting soon. pic.twitter.com/7K37V8S2HM
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 31, 2021
Piers also suggested Osaka was a “spoiled brat whose fame and fortune appears to have inflated her ego to gigantic proportions”.
After it was posted, many took the opportunity to remind Piers of his brattish tendencies – not least the moment he stormed off the set of Good Morning Britain after being called out for his treatment of Meghan Markle by co-presenter Alex Beresford.
Piers Morgan walked off his own show’s set after 90 seconds of gentle critique but can’t understand why Naomi Osaka withdrew from one tennis match after years of media ignited mental health struggles. Smh https://t.co/sfvMYno9Mf
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) June 1, 2021
Piers Morgan, who literally walked off the set in the middle of his own show after getting the mildest possible pushback for his obsessive criticism of a female POC, has some thoughts about how a female POC should honor her professional obligations. pic.twitter.com/UbMP24G4uu
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) May 31, 2021
Piers Morgan walked off his studio because he couldn't even withstand hearing mild criticism from his colleague. The man is the most fragile, brittle spirit. He's a nothing compared to Naomi Osaka.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) May 31, 2021
This petulant? pic.twitter.com/f5KynYYUgS
— Magicnumber03 (@Magicnumber031) May 31, 2021
The fella who chose to walk away from criticism saying "that's it, I've had enough", is offering advice on petulance. 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
— Fiona Rogers (@FionaRogers3) May 31, 2021
She could just walk off if she doesn’t like what she hears pic.twitter.com/jE9260aXPq
— Martin Whitman (@MartinWhitman1) May 31, 2021
The same Piers who walked off set when questions were too hott? pic.twitter.com/X4lqJzjhJT
— tracy mudu (@tracy_mudau) May 31, 2021
Says the bloke who walked off his set on the show he hosts because he couldn’t take the challenge from @alexberesfordTV ?
Have a day off Piers
— Vivek Khashu (@VivekKhashu) May 31, 2021
People shouldn’t avoid scrutiny eh? pic.twitter.com/JLdKb10Ace
— Michael Skillen (@Skildorz11) May 30, 2021
Piers Morgan: Naomi Osaka is a petulant brat who can't handle criticism.
Also Piers Morgan: pic.twitter.com/NScPkZm2sA
— 💜 kellie 🌸 (@kaylochka) May 31, 2021
Big words from someone who flounced off set because the weatherman gave them a talking to
— Gwdihŵ🦉 (@youwouldknow) May 31, 2021
Many also compared Piers’ treatment of Osaka to his ongoing comments in the media about the Duchess of Sussex, having left his job at GMB after his on-air remarks about her led to Ofcom launching an investigation.
What is it with men like P***s M? Why do they struggle to believe that women of colour are human too? Naomi Osaka has admitted to suffering from depression for years. How is that exploitative? She didn't try to silence the media, she just wasn't offering herself up to them. https://t.co/50X9Li0j07
— Malorie Blackman (@malorieblackman) May 31, 2021
Piers Morgan is a #mentalhealth bigot. Racist undertones swapping ‘playing the race card’ for ‘playing the mental health card’ – he’s so demented he sees #MeghanMarkle in #NaomiOsaka & attacks their mental health to silence & discredit them.
This is repugnant & reprehensible. pic.twitter.com/n0QnD2eWzv
— Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu (@SholaMos1) May 31, 2021
What is it about Naomi Osaka and Meghan Markle that gets Piers Morgan so worked up, I wonder. pic.twitter.com/ls3W3gKHUl
— Paul Bernal (@PaulbernalUK) May 31, 2021
Piers Morgan using MailOnline to bully a woman in the public eye again? I wonder what the pattern could be…
— Mic Wright 🏳️🌈🌋🏴☠️ (@brokenbottleboy) May 31, 2021
It really astounds me that you spend so much time attacking women of colour in the public eye. And you seem to be obsessed with Meghan. Paid to make baseless attacks for absolutely no good reason. I wonder if you’ll ever look back on this and experience shame.
— Rhammel (@Rhammified) June 1, 2021
What does her skin colour have to do with it? I’d have written the same column if Naomi Osaka was white. For you to now play the race card to attack & silence any perfectly justified criticism of her behaviour is shameful. https://t.co/DttHRGfH9v
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 1, 2021
Are high-profile women of colour exempt from criticism regardless of their conduct? Sorry, I must have missed that woke memo!
The people I’ve criticised most harshly in the past year are Donald Trump & Boris Johnson and last time I checked, they were identifying as white men. https://t.co/Nah2WpD0rc— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 1, 2021
Explaining her decision to bow out of the French Open, Osaka wrote that she felt it would be “the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being”.
“I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer,” she added. “More importantly I would never trivialise mental health or use the term lightly.”
