Entertainment
Piers Morgan torn down by CNN host over criticism of Simone Biles’ withdrawal from Tokyo 2020 Olympics
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A CNN presenter has ripped into Piers Morgan’s criticism of Simone Biles over her withdrawal from gymnastic events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
It was recently announced that Simone, 24, had made the decision to step down from the team gymnastics finals at the Olympic Games to focus on her mental health, before also pulling out of the individual all-around competition.
While the gymnast has received an outpouring of support for prioritising her mental health, Piers, 56, criticised the move, which came after she recorded the lowest score of her Olympic career on the vault and revealed that she had been struggling mentally.
After Piers said it was ‘nonsense’ to use mental health issues as an ‘excuse for any poor performance in elite sport’, journalist Brianna Keiler called out the former Good Morning Britain presenter’s comments, emphasising that Simone ‘slays competition after competition’.
Showing a screenshot of Piers’ tweet on screen, Brianna said: ‘Piers Morgan, whose only athletic claim to fame is that he ran off the set of his former TV show simply because another host questioned his criticism of Meghan Markle, complained, quote, “Are ‘mental health’ issues now the go-to excuse for any poor performance in elite sport? What a joke. Just admit you did badly, made mistakes, and will strive to do better next time. Kids need strong role models not this nonsense.”’
The CNN host continued: ‘Yeah, maybe a role model like a 24-year-old who slays competition after competition and mentors the younger members of her team, who between the last Olympics and this one came out as one of the more than 150 athletes who have said publicly that they were sexually assaulted by former team doctor Larry Nassar right under the nose of USA Gymnastics.’
Brianna emphasised Simone’s achievements (Picture: CNN)
Brianna referenced the dramatic moment on GMB earlier this year when Piers stormed off set after weatherman Alex Beresford hit back at his criticism of Meghan Markle’s comments about her mental health, which she made during her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Alex recently came to Simone’s defence, stressing that the sport that she partakes in can be ‘dangerous’, especially if a gymnast is ‘not mentally prepared’.
‘On a serious note, it can be quite dangerous, you know if you’re not mentally prepared to go into a difficult routine you could really hurt yourself,’ he said.
Piers said it was ‘nonsense’ to use mental health issues as an ‘excuse’ (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)
Iain Dale added: ‘Over the last 48 hours, the people who are questioning her. What right has anyone got to question somebody who is clearly in a very traumatic state at the moment?
‘I think it’s outrageous that people think they can do this and almost revel in the controversy. I just think it’s wrong.’
More: US TV news
Yesterday, Piers shared a message on Twitter tagging Simone, alongside a photograph taken of them together.
‘You can either listen to snowflake Twitter, @Simone_Biles or listen to me. You’re a great champion, & great champions get back on their feet when they get knocked down,’ he said.
‘So, re-engage in these Games, win Gold, & inspire with the power of resilience not resignation. Go for it.’
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