Piers Morgan gets off scot-free after labeling traditional marriage supporter a 'homophobe'
After receiving backlash for a comment he made on "Good Morning Britain," British journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan has expressed concern for English actor Stephen Fry, who is also receiving flak for his remarks.
According to the Evening Standard, Fry was criticized for his comments about abuse survivors, saying that they should "grow up." He said in an interview with Dave Rubin on the U.S. show "The Rubin Report" that they get his sympathy for what they have gone through but not for their self-pity.
"Self pity is the ugliest emotion in humanity," he said. "Get rid of it, because no one's going to like you if you feel sorry for yourself. The irony is we'll feel sorry for you, if you stop feeling sorry for yourself. Just grow up."
On "Good Morning Britain," Morgan said that Fry's recent remarks may not have been meant to be "hurtful" or "inflammatory."
He also said in tweet, "I'm worried about Stephen Fry. Hope he's OK. Been behaving & speaking in a very odd way lately."
This came after Morgan was himself criticized for a comment he made, particularly for asking a Christian guest on "Good Morning Britain" if he was a homophobe.
In the interview, the presenter asked magistrate Richard Page if he agreed with gay marriage, to which Page answered that he did not.
"So, you're a homophobe then?" Morgan inquired.
About 70 viewers who found the remark offensive and discriminatory lodged their complaints. Media company Ofcom considered these and did a full investigation to see if Morgan breached the code of broadcasting. However, they did not find anything discriminatory with the interview and they considered it as balanced.
"We assessed a number of complaints that Piers Morgan's tone was offensive and discriminatory towards Christians in an interview," a spokesman for Ofcom said, as quoted by The Guardian. "We noted that the interviewee was given several opportunities to respond. He stated he was not homophobic, and set out reasons why. Overall, the interview was balanced and we found no evidence of discrimination."