Former footballer John Barnes has hit back at Piers Morgan, after the Good Morning Britain presenter criticised his defence of Liam Neeson.
Earlier this week, John made headlines when he stuck up for the Taken star, following comments he made about having walked the streets almost 40 years ago with the intent of “killing” a black man, after discovering a friend of his had been raped.
John suggested the actor “deserved a medal” for his honesty, insisting it was reflective of stereotypes people learn from the media and our society, pointing out that Liam had said he was “ashamed” and “horrified” at his past actions in the interview.
Following this, Piers Morgan – who had already condemned Liam’s comments a day earlier – said he felt “staggered” by John’s defence.
“I’ve got a lot of admiration for him and he’s been a great campaigner for racism,” Piers said of John on Wednesday’s GMB. “However, he gave endless defences of Liam Neeson and said he deserves a medal because he prowled the streets for a week looking for a black person to kill. He said he deserved a medal for his honesty.
“We shouldn’t salute his courage and honesty. No, you did this to flog your movie. I think it is completely shameful that he’s done it in the way he’s done it.
“I don’t think he’s being courageous. He’s revealing a truly shocking story about himself that has changed my view.”
John later appeared on This Morning, where he spoke about subtle racism within the media, and Piers’ feelings on the subject.
“It is subliminal, because it is not obvious,” John told presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. “It’s very similar to, subliminally, when Piers Morgan and Susanna [Reid] were talking about, ‘I know if I was black, [this is] how I would feel’.
“What they’re actually saying is, ’this is how you should feel’. And for me, that is insulting, and that is condescending. Because there’s no way Piers Morgan and Susanna [Reid] would ever know what it’s like to feel black, or how they would react had they been black.
“So for them to say, ’if I were black I would feel this way, what they’re actually doing is the exact same thing that they’re accusing Liam Neeson of doing. They’re accusing Liam Neeson of looking at one guilty black man and making everybody guilty.
“What they’re saying by that is ‘this is the way black people should feel’. Because this is the way I would feel, which is lumping all black people together.”
As Phillip attempted to wrap up the segment, John asked if he could make one more point, noting: “The day before, which is very hypocritical, we talked about Winston Churchill, who was a white supremacist.
“He spoke about killing and gassing the ‘lesser races’ and Indians being ‘beastly’... and he’s our great hero. And Piers is saying how fantastic he is. But the the very next day when Liam Neeson does something less worse, we’re now pillorying him.”
After facing a backlash over his interview with The Independent, Liam later attempted to clarify his comments in a live interview on Good Morning America.
He insisted he is “not racist”, recalling: “It really shocked me, this primal urge I had. It shocked me and it hurt me.
“I did seek help, I went to a priest, and I made my confession. And believe it or not, power-walking two hours every day [helped] to get rid of this.”
He also maintained he’d “definitely” have had the same reaction were the rapist not black, claiming: “If she’d have said an Irishman or a Scot or a Brit or a Lithuanian, I know it’d have had the same effect. I was trying to show honour and stand up for my dear friend in this terrible medieval fashion.”
Following the controversy, it was revealed that a red carpet premiere for Liam’s new film had been pulled just hours before it was due to go ahead.
This Morning airs every weekday from 10.30am.