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Piers Morgan: Gemma Collins received death threats when I announced her for 'Life Stories'

Editorial use only  Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/Gary Moyes/Shutterstock (11747216a)  Piers Morgan and Gemma Collins.  'Piers Morgan's Life Stories' TV Show, Series 17, Episode 4, UK - 11 Feb 2021  Piers Morgan's Life Stories, is a British ITV chat show, presented by journalist Piers Morgan. Recorded in front of a studio audience, each episode is devoted to one celebrity guest.
Gemma Collins will appear on Life Stories with Piers Morgan (Photo by ITV/Gary Moyes/Shutterstock)

Piers Morgan has said that Gemma Collins received death threats from online trolls as soon as he announced she would be featured on his programme Life Stories.

The Good Morning Britain host admitted the level of abuse aimed at reality TV star Collins had shocked him as he called for greater regulation of social media platforms.

Morgan and his co-host Reid were discussing online racist abuse of footballers and the need for people posting the offensive comments to be held accountable when Morgan shared that Collins had been on the receiving end of some vile tweets, too.

Morgan shared this image of him with the GC at the NTA Awards on his Instagram.
Gemma Collins has found a supporter in Piers Morgan (Instagram/Piers Morgan)

Talking about his interview with her for Life Stories, he said: “Whether you love her or hate her, and she has 2.5million fans on social media that love her and she has other people who can't stand her, she's a reality TV star who plays up to a character, very like Katie Price and so on.

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“Whether you do or not, no one should have to put up with people on Twitter spewing the kind of vile, abusive, even death threats they've been spewing at Gemma Collins.

“The moment I announced I was doing it, out it poured. People on Twitter just saying ‘I hope you die.’ Literally. I was reading the stuff.”

Morgan continued: “This is a malevolent thing in our culture, our society now and there's no regulation. If a newspaper did that, or if we did that, if we spent the next five minutes wishing people dead, we'd be taken off air. Ofcom would intervene and we'd be taken off air.

“But nothing happens on Twitter to these morons who abuse footballers, even Captain Tom got it, and then Gemma Collins - alright, she's a divisive figure, but she shouldn't have to have people wishing her dead on a public platform with no repercussions for people doing it.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 18:  (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Gemma Collins attends a photocall for the new series of Dancing On Ice at Natural History Museum Ice Rink on December 18, 2018 in London, England.  (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Piers Morgan defended Gemma Collins during Dancing On Ice (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)

In a later discussion about the problem where he showed footage of Collins crying during Life Stories over some of the abuse she’d received, he said of the death threats: “I was really shocked and it takes a lot to shock me.”

Morgan has often spoken out in support of Collins, including during her stint on Dancing On Ice when she was mocked for falling over during one routine.

At the time, Morgan called her getting back up and continuing her skate “the gutsiest thing I’ve seen”.

Watch: Gemma Collins vows to be a humanitarian