Skip to content

Piers Morgan vs. transgender people

Piers Morgan is a British media personality and anti-transgender activist. Morgan has made a number of disparaging comments about trans interviewees and holds special contempt for trans athletes and gender diverse people. Morgan has written for anti-trans publications, most notably the Daily Mail.

Background

Piers Stefan O’Meara was born on March 30, 1965 in Newick, East Sussex, England to dentist Vincent Eamonn O’Meara and Gabrielle Georgina Sybille. Vincent died when Piers was an infant, and Piers later took the surname of stepparent Glynne Pughe-Morgan, a Welsh pub landlord. Morgan was educated at Chailey School in East Sussex and studied journalism at Harlow College in Essex. Morgan began in local journalism in the late 1980s, working at the South London News and later joining national tabloid The Sun.

In 1994, at the age of 29, Morgan was appointed editor of the News of the World. In 1995, Morgan was named editor of the Daily Mirror. Morgan was fired in 2004 after publishing hoax photos of British soldiers allegedly abusing prisoners during the Iraq War.

From the mid-2000s, Morgan increasingly focused on broadcasting. Morgan appeared as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, then on America’s Got Talent from 2011 to 2012. In January 2011, Morgan launched Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN, replacing Larry King. The program ran until March 2014, when CNN cancelled it following declining ratings. During this period, Morgan also became a prominent commentator on political and social issues, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom.

In November 2015, Morgan became a co-presenter of ITV’s breakfast program Good Morning Britain. Morgan left in March 2021, following public controversy and regulatory complaints related to comments Morgan made about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. In April 2022, Morgan launched Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV in the United Kingdom, with international distribution through online platforms. In early 2024, Morgan departed TalkTV and continued the program independently, primarily via digital and social media platforms.

Morgan has been involved in multiple public controversies. This profile only focuses on Morgan’s words and actions related to gender identity and expression.

Morgan married Marion Shalloe in 1991; they divorced in 2008 and have three children. In 2010, Morgan married journalist Celia Walden; they have one child, born in 2011.

Anti-trans controversies

Piers Morgan Tonight (2011–2014)

In 2014, Morgan interviewed trans author and activist Janet Mock. Morgan made a number inappropriate comments, asking whether Mock had disclosed to partner Aaron Tredwell once being “a man,” and tweeting during his CNN interview with Mock, “How would you feel if you found out the woman you are dating was formerly a man?” and using an on-screen chyron for Mock that read that she “was a boy until age 18.” Mock never identified as a man and identified as a girl in high school.

Good Morning Britain (2015–2021)

In October 2015, Morgan joined Good Morning Britain as a co-host three days a week. In April 2016, Morgan became a full-time co-host. Morgan left the show in March 2021 after making controversial statement about an interview Oprah Winfrey did with Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

In 2017, Morgan tweeted after calling nonbinary people “absurd”: “I don’t hate the people, I hate the movement. Human beings are male or female. Not whatever they fancy being.”

Jul 31, 2020 it’s not ‘transphobia’ to ask why the word ‘women’ is being deliberately eradicated from common usage in case it offends people…. this debate needs to be had without the woke brigade losing their minds.

After London Aquarium offered PinkNews readers the chance to name a penguin chick being raised by the aquarium’s gay penguin couple, Morgan trolled on Twitter: “Speaking as a two-spirit penguin, I find it absolutely disgraceful that you have a assigned a gender-neutral identity to a penguin chick when it may wish to identify itself as male or female. In the words of Greta Thunberg: how DARE you?”

“My number one pet hate at the moment is the absurd ‘gender fluid’ movement, driven by people who don’t wish to be defined as either male or female.”

Piers Morgan Uncensored (2022–)

In April 2022, Morgan began hosting Piers Morgan Uncensored on YouTube. The show frequently features anti-trans guests and conservative trans people, often in a heated argument with a progressive trans person or ally.

Anti-trans guests and conservative LGBTQ people include:

  • Andrew Tate

Progressive guests and allies include:

  • Kat Abughazaleh
  • James Barr
  • Munroe Bergdorf
  • Blossom C. Brown
  • Eli Erlick
  • Don Lemon
  • Zack Polanski
  • Peter Tatchell
  • Neil DeGrasse Tyson
  • Helen Webberley

Woke Is Dead (2025)

Morgan released the book Woke Is Dead in 2025. It contains a chapter dedicated to transgender topics titled “What Is a Woman?” In it, A summary by Aaron Sugg for Attitude states:

He addresses the Cass review, women in sport, and the April UK Supreme Court ruling, declaring that ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ can only refer to biological sex. […] The book also praises Harry Potter author JK Rowling, describing her as a “brave woman” for speaking proudly about her gender-critical views. Morgan says, “She is the one who’s on the right side of history.” He also slams non-binary singer Sam Smith for having “a hundred gender identities so far,” writing: “I find the insatiable thirst for attention quite exhausting.” He also discusses trans Scottish criminal Isla Bryson, who he claims exploited self-identification policies to be placed in a women’s prison despite being a “male rapist”. Morgan criticises politicians, including Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, for making a “humiliating U-turn”. Medical intervention in children with gender dysphoria also comes under fire. Morgan cites the closure of the Tavistock Gender Identity Service, noting that 97% of young patients had other underlying conditions such as autism or depression. He describes the previous practices of giving puberty blockers and surgery to minors as “barbaric” and commercially driven. He writes: “The medicalising of kids is the most visceral and damaging example of prioritising self-identity and ‘lived experience’ over cold facts.”

References

Sugg, Aaron (October 30, 2025). What Piers Morgan says about trans and non-binary people in his new book – from praising ‘brave’ JK Rowling to mocking Sam Smith. Attitude https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/piers-morgans-new-book-woke-is-dead-trans-comments-501650/

Perry, Sophie (October 13, 2025). Green leader Zack Polanski praised for response to Piers Morgan’s trans questions. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/10/13/zack-polanski-piers-morgan-trans/

Ali, Mishti (May 17, 2022). Piers Morgan called a ‘c**t’ on live TV after bleating ‘anti-trans dogwhistles’. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/05/17/piers-morgan-trans/

Cooper, Alex (April 27, 2022). Donald Trump Tries and Fails to Define ‘Woman’ in Anti-Trans Interview. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/4/27/donald-trump-tries-and-fails-define-woman-anti-trans-interview

Casey, John (March 14, 2021). What Will Become of Diabolical Piers Morgan? The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2021/3/14/what-will-become-diabolical-piers-morgan

Milton, Josh (March 9, 2021). 11 reasons Piers Morgan won’t be missed by trans people after quitting Good Morning Britain. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/03/09/piers-morgan-trans-transgender-good-morning-britain-sam-smith-non-binary/

Kelleher, Patrick (October 17, 2020). Piers Morgan claims trans women playing rugby is ‘obviously wrong’. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2020/10/17/piers-morgan-transgender-women-world-rugby-ban-twitter-ban/

Parsons, Vic (October 13, 2019). Thousands call for Piers Morgan to be fired by Good Morning Britain for ‘dehumanising’ trans people. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2019/10/13/sack-piers-morgan-petition-itv-good-morning-britain-transgender/

Duffy, Nick (September 24, 2019). Piers Morgan blames Sam Smith for ‘wrecking’ the BRIT Awards while missing an extremely obvious point. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2019/09/24/piers-morgan-sam-smith-non-binary-brit-awards-grammys-good-morning-britain/

Milton, Josh (September 16, 2019). To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Piers Morgan is seriously struggling with Sam Smith’s non-binary identity. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2019/09/16/piers-morgan-sam-smith-non-binary-good-morning-britain-they-them/

Powell, Emma (April 3, 2019). Piers Morgan reveals he is ‘trans-slender’ weeks after identifying as Sam Smith. The Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/piers-morgan-reveals-he-is-transslender-weeks-after-identifying-as-sam-smith-a4107831.html

Powell, Emma (March 19, 2019). Piers Morgan ‘identifies as Sam Smith’ as he mocks singer for revealing he is non-binary. The Standard https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/piers-morgan-identifies-as-sam-smith-as-he-mocks-singer-for-revealing-he-is-nonbinary-a4095176.html

Warner, Sam (November 27, 2018). Good Morning Britain guest Munroe Bergdorf calls Piers Morgan a “bigot” during heated transgender debate. Digital Spy https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a871474/good-morning-britain-munroe-bergdorf-piers-morgan-transgender-debate/

Jackman, Josh (November 27, 2018). Munroe Bergdorf calls Piers Morgan ‘bigoted’ in trans debate. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2018/11/27/munroe-bergdorf-piers-morgan-trans/

McCormick, Joseph (November 22, 2017), Piers Morgan lashes out at ‘non binary brigade’: ‘Let boys be boys’ PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2017/11/22/piers-morgan-lashes-out-at-non-binary-brigade-let-boys-be-boys/

Jackman, Josh (July 24, 2017). Piers Morgan says he hates genderfluid people, calling them ‘absurd.’ PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2017/07/24/piers-morgan-says-he-hates-genderfluid-people-calling-them-absurd/

Jackman, Josh (May 17, 2017). Piers Morgan calls non-binary children ‘a contagion’ as he attacks trans couple. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2017/05/17/piers-morgan-calls-non-binary-children-a-contagion-as-he-attacks-trans-couple/

Jackman, Josh (July 31, 2017). This Christian transgender 10-year-old on Good Morning Britain revelled in Piers Morgan’s absence. PinkNews https://www.thepinknews.com/2017/07/31/this-christian-transgender-10-year-old-on-good-morning-britain-revelled-in-piers-morgans-absence/

Gilchrist, Tracy E. (July 25, 2017). Piers Morgan Hates Gender-Fluid People So Much He Called a Baby ‘It’ on TV. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2017/7/25/piers-morgan-hates-gender-fluid-people-so-much-he-called-baby-it-tv

Molloy, Parker Marie (March 11, 2017). Op-ed: Janet Mock Slams Piers Morgan for Transphobic Questions, Tweets. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2014/02/05/op-ed-janet-mock-slams-piers-morgan-transphobic-questions-tweets

Frazier, Ran Aubrey (February 25, 2014). Piers Morgan Out the Door at CNN. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/politics/media/2014/02/24/piers-morgan-out-door-cnn

Krehely, Jeff (February 7, 2014). Op-ed: What Not To Do, When Calling Yourself a Transgender Ally. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2014/02/07/op-ed-what-not-do-when-calling-yourself-transgender-ally

Ross, L.A. (February 6, 2014). Piers Morgan and Transgender Guest Janet Mock Get Into Heated Exchange During Second Interview (Video). The Wrap https://www.thewrap.com/piers-morgan-tells-transgender-guest-hes-peeved-angry-response-interview/

Brinker, Luke (February 5, 2014). Piers Morgan Denounces Transgender Guest After She Criticizes His Interview. Media Matters for America https://www.mediamatters.org/cnn/piers-morgan-denounces-transgender-guest-after-she-criticizes-his-interview

Selected writing by Morgan

Morgan, Piers (April 23, 2022). EXCLUSIVE: Ready to ruffle feathers again with his new TV show, an inimitably combative PIERS MORGAN asks: Why do wokies suck all the joy out of life? Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10746995/PIERS-MORGAN-asks-wokies-suck-joy-life.html

Morgan, Piers (December 7, 2021). PIERS MORGAN: If Michael Phelps began competing as a transgender woman, all hell would break loose – so why is nothing being done to stop trans athletes like Lia Thomas from destroying women’s sport? Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/columnists/article-10284583/PIERS-MORGAN-Michael-Phelps-began-competing-transgender-woman-hell-break-loose.html

Morgan, Piers (September 13, 2021). PIERS MORGAN: It made me sick to watch a once-male special forces combat veteran beat up a woman on TV – it’s time to stop this trans sport insanity before women start being killed. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9985411/PIERS-MORGAN-time-stop-trans-sport-insanity-women-start-killed.html

Morgan, Piers (January 27, 2021). Bans on joggers, Liz Hurley’s jugs and trans-women in women’s sport: 20-1 shot for Prime Minister, PIERS MORGAN reveals his radical manifesto. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9193683/PIERS-MORGAN-reveals-radical-manifesto-prime-minister.html

Morgan, Piers (September 28, 2020). How liberals made the world nuts: They used to champion freedom and tolerance – and PIERS MORGAN has always been proud to be one. So how, he asks in his new book, have liberals become a shrieking mob hell-bent on silencing all dissent? Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-8776121/PIERS-MORGAN-liberals-shrieking-mob-hell-bent-silencing-dissent.html

Morgan, Piers (March 4, 2019). It’s grotesquely unfair for transgender women to compete in women’s sports, and outrageous for trans people to bully and vilify LGBT heroine Martina Navratilova for stating the obvious. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6769265/PIERS-unfair-transgender-women-compete-womens-sportand-outrageous-bully-Martina.html

Morgan, Piers (November 22, 2017). For God’s sake let boys be boys, and girls be girls, and stop this charge to turn them all into ‘non-binary, gender fluid creatures of indeterminate sexuality.’ Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5107639/PIERS-MORGAN-God-s-sake-let-boys-boys.html

Morgan, Piers (July 27, 2017). Trump’s transgender military ban is reprehensible, bigoted and saves just $8m year – so is it just a cynical ploy to stop us all talking about Russia and his healthcare disaster for a few days? Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4735816/PIERS-MORGAN-Trump-s-transgender-ban-cynical-ploy.html

Morgan, Piers (July 22, 2017). Tony Blair said I was ‘basically a slug’, but a clever one at least. Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-4715382/Why-Piers-Morgan-fan-slugs.html

Books

Morgan, Piers (2025). Woke Is Dead: How common sense triumphed in an age of total madness, HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0008555498

Morgan, Piers (2020). Wake Up: Why the world has gone nuts. HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0008392598

Media

Good Morning Britain (July 10, 2017). Piers Morgan Debates With Parent Fighting for Their Child’s Right to Remain Genderless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGlNv_JPZ1o

Resources

GLAAD Accountability Project (glaad.org)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

Britannica (britannica.com)

AllSides (allsides.com)

“Official” Piers Morgan (officialpiersmorgan.com) [archive]

  • Archival site of posts from ~2009. May be a third-party site.

TV Insider (tvinsider.com)

CNN (cnn.com)

  • Piers Morgan
  • cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/morgan.piers.html

ITV (itv.com)

NBC (nbc.com)

  • nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/ [archive]

Simon & Schuster (simonandschuster.com)

  • Piers Morgan
  • simonandschuster.com/authors/Piers-Morgan/412652018

Daily Mail (dailymail.co.uk)

  • Piers Morgan
  • dailymail.co.uk/news/columnist-1096452/Piers-Morgan-MailOnline.html

New Statesman (newstatesman.com)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

YouTube (youtube.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

TikTok (tiktok.com)

IMDb (imdb.com)