Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan got into a heated debate with Labour MP Lisa Nandy this morning.
After discussing the coronavirus outbreak, the conversation moved onto to the topic of gender self-identification.
Asking the Labour leader contender's opinion on the subject, Piers said: "BBC teach has sent out educational videos where they say there's over 100 genders."
Lisa said: "It sounds like you could do with watching one of them, to be honest."
Piers asked: "Do you think there are 100 genders or more?"
Lisa said: "It's not for me to say."
Piers was dismissive of Lisa's neutral stance on the matter and pressed her for an answer, saying: "You want to be the leader of the Labour party."
Lisa went on to tell the presenter: "You're being trivial."
The conversation got heated, with both Piers and Lisa speaking over one another to try and make their points.
Co-host Susanna Reid went on to quote Labour MP Dawn Butler who said "a child is born without sex".
Piers asked the leadership hopeful: "Do you agree with that?"
Lisa said: "It's not for me to tell people who they are."
She went on to say babies are born and "designated a biological sex" but "as they grow into adults, that often becomes problematic".
The politician added: "I don't know what's difficult about that for you to understand" and reiterated, "I don't know why this is so hard."
The MP then asked: "Why would you want a politician to define a person's sex?"
The tense conversation moved on to sport, with Piers asking if Lisa believed it was fair or right for "anyone born to a male biological body" to "be able to self identify as a woman" in competitive events.
Lisa replied: "The point I was trying to make before you cut me off is... there needs to be rules".
She added: "You've got to make sure that it is fair" and said "it is for sport to have a proper commission."
Piers said: "It's not a commission issue, it's a common sense issue."
Lisa went on to say she represented domestic violence victims and trans people and would not "allow" the conversation to become a "battle" between those "who need support."
Piers pressed the subject further and asked: "Why wouldn't you come on Good Morning Britain to tell us whether it's fair for Usain Bolt to self identify as female?" and added: "It's complete madness."
Lisa said: "You've created more heat and less light" and went on to say, "Usain Bolt is not planning to self identify as a woman and compete."
Piers continued and added: "You can get very irritated by me" before pressing his hand to his ear piece and sharing "I'm sorry, they're all sighing in my ear".
He added: "The battle is raging between women's rights and transgender rights" and said, "this gets quite serious for the effect it has on women's rights" before asking: "how far do trans rights go against women's rights?"
Pushing for answer, Piers said: "We're talking about people self-identifying and competing."
Lisa said: "We have to have proper rules but the idea you want to pit one group against another, its not good enough."
Piers replied: "You're not giving a straight answer because you're worried how the reaction will affect you."
He added: "I'm trying to defend women's rights in a grotesquely unfair situation" and asked, "what am I doing that's so wrong?"
Lisa said: "You're setting up a false war between women and trans rights."
Piers replied: "I'm defending women's rights."
Visibly unsettled, Lisa said: "I'm sorry, I think this is outrageous."
Susanna asked: "What, by asking you a simple question about sport?"
Piers went on: "Why can't you give me a straight answer?"
Lisa accused the presenter of attacking trans people.
Piers said: "I'm not attacking anyone, Lisa."
The Labour MP went on to say Piers should apologise for "how he conducted the debate", but Piers said: "You want me to apologise for asking questions?"
It was time for an advert break and the show's well-known theme music began to play while the pair carried on arguing.
Truing to calm the debate, Susanna said: "I feel like this argument could go on all morning."
