Piers Morgan has been accused of delegitimising the movement for racial equality in the US after telling a CNN commentator who tweeted “all black lives matter” that “all lives matter”.
The former Mirror editor faced a backlash after responding to a tweet from Marc Lamont Hill by claiming millions of white lives are also "devalued" and treated "appallingly” across the world.
Morgan said he preferred not to “categorise the value of life according to skin colour” and suggested the statement 'black lives matter' could only serve to cause more division.
ALL lives matter. > RT @marclamonthill ALL black lives matter.
; Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 21, 2015
@marclamonthill but there are millions of white lives that are devalued around the world too & treated appallingly.
; Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 21, 2015
Indeed. And we should address that with urgency. But not by co-opting and ultimately delegitimizing THIS movement. https://t.co/wiXFSDvU5m
; Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) July 21, 2015
@marclamonthill I just prefer to affirm the value of life, regardless of colour. Let’s come together, not stay apart.
; Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 21, 2015
Their exchange saw many Twitter users lambast Morgan for apparently misunderstanding the validity of the movement in light of a spate of killings and shootings across the US.
@piersmorgan @rolandsmartin @marclamonthill pic.twitter.com/tjOh1EyWby
; A•Charmaine (@VerucaSaltSh8kr) July 21, 2015
But Morgan was adamant he understood the context, and later tweeted:
Is saying ‘All lives matter’ really that contentious? I mean, REALLY?
; Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 21, 2015
The black lives matter movement began as a hashtag in response to the shooting of the unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin by his neighbour George Zimmerman, who was acquitted on all charges relating to his death.
People march toward the West Side Highway during a protest in New York
It later came to symbolise a wider movement against police brutality and the shooting and killing of black citizens, including Michael Brown, whose death at the hands of a white policeman sparked weeks of rioting in Ferguson.
‘Black lives matter’ also appeared on placards in protests over the deaths of Eric Garner, who suffocated in a police chokehold, and on Confederate monuments across the US after the Charleston shootings.
