During his most recent televised shouting match, Piers Morgan shared the sofa with Dr Michael Davidson, a man who believes that homosexuality is an aberration which can be cured. Morgan dismissed the practitioners of conversion therapy as “Just bigoted people who actually talk complete claptrap and who are, in my view, a malevolent and dangerous part of our society.” And as much as I loathe to agree with this sentient ham, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
However, this sudden rush to the defense of LGBTQ+ people is a pitiful and hollow show of allyship when you’re the face of the TV show that gave a platform to this dangerous and damaging rhetoric, you shouted down a trans woman only one day before, and you have a long track record of being terrible to LGBTQ+ people. It seems horribly calculated, an idea that was echoed by Sarah Wingrove: “So you’re trying to prove that Piers Morgan isn’t a bigot by showing him ‘standing up for the gays’ after his attack of Munroe Bergdorf?”
“It’s horrifying to think that vulnerable closeted people would hear Dr Davidson’s claims that he could ‘cure’ them and see it as a way out of their current circumstances.”
It’s completely irresponsible for Good Morning Britain to offer a platform to Dr Davidson and his beliefs. Many people are eager to believe that to shine a light on these bigoted and hateful views exposes their stupidity, but instead it only amplifies their reach. As Rowan Ellis said on twitter “[LGBT kids] won’t see a bigot exposing himself because Piers f*cking Morgan tells him off — their internalised homophobia will see an escape route, and the kind of parents who want to cure their children’s gender or sexuality aren’t the kind of people who will be put off by this either. If that’s a route they consider acceptable, putting the guy who is selling it on f*cking daytime TV is only going to validate them further.”
It’s horrifying to think that vulnerable closeted people would hear Dr Davidson’s claims that he could ‘cure’ them and see it as a way out of their current circumstances, but that is the reality. Conversion therapy is widely derided and condemned but that doesn’t mean that LGBTQ+ people, especially those who fear familial rejection, have stopped looking for a way to ‘pray away the gay’, or ceased wistfully wishing after the easier life they imagine for the cishet version of themselves. Stonewall Young Campaigner of the Year, Ellen Jones, admitted that she had felt this way, saying: “For the longest time, I would have done anything not to be gay. If you had told me a few years ago someone could cure me I would have believed you and probably sought a cure. Conversion therapy exploits the deepest insecurities of queer people and profits from their vulnerability.”
“Piers Morgan isn’t an ally to LGBTQ+ people, but today Good Morning Britain offered him the opportunity to play one.”
It’s for precisely these reasons that conversion therapy is a dangerous and often traumatising process, and offering it air time on a show with over a million views only serves to further legitimise it as a valid option. Stonewall boss Ruth Hunt agreed that extending a platform to Dr Davidson was abhorrent, calling the segment “ITV sanctioned hate”.
Just three hours after the interview aired, Ofcom reported that they had already received over 100 complaints. As reassuring it is to know that other people reacted to this segment with similar rage, it doesn’t alter the fact that ITV execs booked this man and in doing so prioritised making ‘good tv’ over the value and wellbeing of vulnerable LGBTQ+ people. Piers Morgan isn’t an ally to LGBTQ+ people, but today Good Morning Britain offered him the opportunity to play one. Disappointingly he is still receiving praise for his dismissal of Dr Davidson, even though setting the stage for this performance directly jeopardised the welfare of LGBTQ+ people.
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Image via ITV and Good Morning Britain
