GMB viewers criticise Piers for "vile" #MeToo joke

From Digital Spy

Piers Morgan has been criticised for making a joke about the #MeToo campaign.

While presenting Good Morning Britain today (March 19), he read out a tweet from pal Bradley Walsh, who'd joked that he and Susanna Reid reminded him of Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd's characters in Moonlighting.

A picture of the two actors then appeared alongside them on screen, prompting Piers to ask Susanna if they could re-enact the images.

"Come on, come on, you know you want to," he quipped. "Come on, dangle your little arm around me, you know you want to. We've got to try and recreate it, come on.

"You're allowed to. I'm not going to '#MeToo' you! Come on. You're allowed to touch me in the workplace, come on."

Susanna then looked stunned by the comment and hit back: "It's about whether I want to, not whether you allow me to. I don't want to put my arm around you."

Another picture was then displayed on screen showing Bruce pretending to bite Cybill's neck.

"You're definitely not doing that," Susanna quickly commented. "Even you wouldn't go there – because I wouldn't let you!"

While Piers' comments were made in jest, many viewers did not see the funny side given the dark and serious nature of the #MeToo movement:

#MeToo started trending worldwide on Twitter and Facebook in October 2017, in the wake of allegations about sexual harrassment and misconduct in Hollywood.

Charmed actress Alyssa Milano put out a call to action for victims of sexual harassment and assault to "give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem".

Women from all over the world united on social media with the hashtag 'MeToo' to share their stories of being sexually harrassed or assaulted in some way throughout their lives. Among the celebrities taking to Twitter included Lady Gaga and Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood.

#MeToo founder Tarana Burke was named among a group of activists dubbed "the silence breakers" as Time's Person of the Year 2017, and attended the Golden Globes as a guest of Michelle Williams.

The #MeToo movement's spiritual successor Time's Up, tackling systemic sexual harrassment and misconduct, was launched at the start of 2018 by a number of prominent Hollywood stars, along with a legal defence fund to help working-class women who may not have the financial resources to defend themselves against misconduct.

Good Morning Britain airs on weekdays at 6am on ITV.

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