Piers Morgan hits back after Ewan McGregor CANCELS his Good Morning Britain appearance 'because he disagrees with his Women's March protest comments'

• e-mail

Trainspotting star Ewan McGregor was branded a 'diva' today after he refused to go on live TV with Piers Morgan because he criticised the Women's March in Washington DC.

The Good Morning Britain host was angry about Madonna's comments about 'blowing up the White House' after Donald Trump won the US election and said protesters were 'whipped into a man-hating frenzy by some very nasty women'.

Today McGregor was due to promote T2 - the sequel to Trainspotting - on the ITV show but pulled out at the last minute.

He tweeted this morning: 'Was going on Good Morning Britain, didn't realise @piersmorgan was host. Won't go on with him after his comments about #WomensMarch'. 

But his decision to pull out led to a Twitter backlash, including by Mr Morgan himself who pretended to cry on screen and accused the star, 45, of being a 'coward' who should 'stick to talking about movies'.

Falling out: Trainspotting star Ewan McGregor (pictured today) pulled out of a TV interview with Piers Morgan (also today) because he was critical of the Women's March in Washington

Backlash: Mr Morgan pretended to cry on screen and accused the star, 45, of being a 'coward' who should 'stick to talking about movies'.

Row: Today McGregor was due to promote T2 - the sequel to Trainspotting - on the ITV show but pulled out at the last minute

Fighting back: Ewan's decision to pull out led to a Twitter backlash, including by Mr Morgan himself.

He said:  'Sorry to hear that @mcgregor_ewan - you should be big enough to allow people different political opinions. You're just an actor after all'.

Piers' fury over McGregor's GMB snub

In the minutes after Ewan McGregor pulled out of an interview with Good Morning Britain hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid discussed his decision.

Piers Morgan (PM): Ewan who is an actor and will be in a movie, won't be talking about his movie. It says a lot about my thinking that an actor should stick to talking about movies.

Susanna Reid (SR): A lot of people didn't agree with you about the march, including the woman sitting next to you

PM: Well then come on and debate it, don't just don't show up.

PM: I like Ewan, he's a good actor, but he's not a world leader.

SR: You tell people what to think

PM: I don't!

SR: You judge people on what to think

PM: No, there are different views about these things, I didn't vote for Brexit but don't disagree with people who did or Trump

(Later discussing Eurovision contestants) 

PM: You know I've never heard of you, never met you but already think you're better than Ewan McGregor! (mock crying) I'm about to cry, Ewan McGregor doesn't want to come on the sofa with me. I think it's because he knows I don't like Star Wars.

SR: Your wife still likes him

PM: She won't after this! A lot of people are saying get over yourself, which is my view.  

PM: We're presenting an award tomorrow. I hope it's for best actor, and I hope Ewan wins – if he does -I'm going to shove the award where the sun don't shine.

Advertisement

'A real man would have come on and debated it with me, not run away like a coward'.

He added: 'He's an actor, not the Dalai bl**dy Lama'. 

In a new column for MailOnline this afternoon, Mr Morgan said that the actor was about to appear on air when he pulled out of the interview.

He said: 'McGregor arrived with a large Hollywood-style entourage at the ITV studios in London, where I currently co-host Good Morning Britain.

'They were all escorted to the green room, where an argument then started with our editorial team because McGregor apparently hadn't realized I was going to be involved with the interview.

'He refused point blank to do it unless I was removed and it was performed by my co-host Susanna Reid.

'This demand was denied, as were further demands for the interview to be severely shortened and to be restricted purely to talk about his new movie, Trainspotters 2.

'So, enraged that he couldn't do the interview on the terms he wanted, McGregor left'. 

Susanna Reid, who says she disagrees with her co-host on the issue said in a tweet to McGregor this morning: 'Such a shame. Challenge views where there's difference. Would have liked to see that debate on air - it's an important one'. 

Morgan had previously voiced his displeasure at the protests which took place around the world, saying: 'I'm planning a men's march to protest at the creeping global emasculation of my gender by rabid feminists. Who's with me?' 

Comments under Mr McGregor's tweet were largely opposed to his decision - with some suggesting it was a publicity stunt ahead of T2's release on Friday.

Lee Roberts told him: '@mcgregor_ewan let's get this right. You can kick the s**t out of Darth Vader, but run scared of @piersmorgan. You are supposed to be a Jedi'. 

Michael Kelpie wrote: 'Poor decision first up, it is your job to promote your film. Second, you should have told @piersmorgan to his face'.

Emma Harding said: 'Rich Celebrities like you get paid to entertain us. Nobody cares about your political views!!'.

Mags Walker ‏tweeted: 'How silly! All he said was march when you have something to march for? Too many 'celebs' getting political'.  

Reaction: The majority of people who saw McGregor's online snub were critical of his decision not to face Morgan on TV

Piers Morgan wrote about the Women's March for MailOnline and was particularly critical of Madonna.

Ann Widdecombe calls women's marches 'pathetic' and brands men 'wimps'

Former politician Ann Widdecombe clashed with Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid after branding the women's marches 'pathetic'.

The ex-MP, 69, who viewers recently saw chasing sheep around a field in the reality show Sugar Free Farm, said men had become 'wimps' because they were putting up with 'all this rubbish'.

She told the ITV show: 'I can remember when women were not equal. I can remember those days.

'Nowadays it's gone completely the other way. All women shortlists, women have all the advantage in custody cases.'

Asked what she thought about the women's marches that were held around the world following President Donald Trump's inauguration, she laughed and stated 'pathetic'.

'You guys are such pathetic wimps. You go along with all this rubbish,' she said to co-host Piers Morgan.

She added of the protesters: 'They weren't arguing anything. They were shouting.'

Widdecombe said: 'We have got absolute equality. We've got advantages the men haven't got. I actually think it's gone very unfairly the other way.'

When co-host Reid said, despite legislation, women were not being paid the same as men, Widdecombe stated: 'I'm sorry, that is complete nonsense.'

When Reid said it was 'hard to get transparency', Widdecombe told her: 'May I finish Susanna? I'd like to finish this sentence.'

She said of Mr Trump's previous comments about women, for which he apologised: 'We're going back to an interview in 2005 and it's now 2017. Grow up guys.'

After Morgan pointed out Widdecombe did not take any nonsense from men, the ex-MP, who has ditched sugar to farm her own healthy food for the TV series Sugar Free Farm, pointed at Reid.

'I don't take it from women either,' she said.

Reid agreed, saying: 'You're very equal in your treatment.'

Advertisement

The star, 58, told crowds in Washington: 'Good did not win this election, but good will win in the end. And to our detractors that insist this March will never add up to anything, f**k you.

'Yes, I'm angry. Yes, I'm outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot of blowing up the White House'.

In response Mr Morgan, MailOnline's U.S. Editor-at-Large responded by saying: 'I love women and believe passionately in gender equality.

'I support all women's rights and have proven this point many times as an employer and promoter of women in the workplace.

'But I can't abide the feminazis, the radical, extreme feminists like Madonna.

'Real feminism is not about murdering men you don't like or stripping off to make money and pretending it's about liberating women.

'It's about striving to be so good at what you do that your gender is irrelevant, then making sure you are rewarded in the same way as a man. That, surely, is true equality?'.

He added: 'This was nasty women being nasty, whipped into a man-hating frenzy by some very nasty women on a stage.

'Love was Trumped by hate and bomb threats. Ladies, I love you. But if you let the nasty women win, you lose'.

Protests against Donald Trump drew millions of women across the world to more than 600 rallies, the new President dismissed them with the scoffing tweet: 'We just had an election! Why didn't these people vote?'

But hours later, amid evidence that the Washington DC demonstration alone drew more people than his inauguration ceremony – not to mention an army of stars including Emma Watson, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore and Madonna – Mr Trump backtracked on his remarks.

Turning again to Twitter, Mr Trump wrote: 'Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I don't always agree, I recognise the rights of people to express their views.'

Marchers championed a variety of causes, including gender equality, black rights, abortion rights and general disgust over Mr Trump's history of misogynistic remarks. Many on the marches sported home-made, pink and pointy eared 'pussy hats' to mock the US President's vilest language about women.

The New York protest outside Mr Trump's skyscraper home was attended by Dame Helen Mirren and Whoopi Goldberg while the LA demo drew Jamie Lee Curtis, Barbra Streisand, Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Miley Cyrus and Jane Fonda.

The biggest event was in Washington DC, where officials estimated it drew more than 500,000 protesters – possibly twice the figure for the Trump inauguration the previous day. There were protests in British cities including Cardiff, Edinburgh and London.

Back together:  Thec cast of Trainspotting reunited after 21 years on the orange carpet of the film's sequel on Sunday night. Director Danny Boyl posed alongside lead Ewan McGregor, Ewan Bremner, John Hodge, Irvine Welsh, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Kelly Macdonald and Anjela Nedyalkova (pictured L-R)

Millions of women around the world proudly marching to protest Trump. They wore pink pussy hats, and the mood was one of celebration; a joyous gathering of the female gender

Message: Madonna announced she had thought ' an awful lot' about blowing up the White House