Piers Morgan has accused Ewan McGregor of being a “peadophile-loving hypocrite” after the actor cancelled his appearance on Good Morning Britain.
McGregor refused to appear on Morgan's show on Tuesday morning because he did not agree with his scathing comments about the Women’s March against Donald Trump. Morgan suggested the global protests were “vacuous” and attracted “rabid feminists”.
Morgan, who is also editor-at-large of the US Mail Online, has now hit back at McGregor’s decision to cancel his appearance in a column piece for the publication which describes the actor as a “paedophile-loving hypocrite” in the headline.
The controversial columnist said he would have asked McGregor about Roman Polanski if he had not pulled out of the interview which was scheduled to focus on McGregor's latest film, the Trainspotting sequel.
Polanski, a French-Polish film director who McGregor worked with on The Ghost Writer, pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1977 but then fled America. He currently divides his time between France, Poland, and Switzerland, which have refused to extradite him.
“Had we done the interview, I might have asked him how his heroic support for women justified him working for director Roman Polanski, a self-confessed and convicted child abuser, on the film, The Ghostwriter,” Morgan wrote in his column piece.
“Polanksi pleaded guilty to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl, then fled America to escape a lengthy prison sentence.”
McGregor praised Polanski’s directing skills on Good Morning America back in 2010 but refused to comment on his personal troubles.
McGregor decided to pull out of Good Morning Britain at the last minute on Tuesday after he became aware the show was hosted by Morgan.
“Was going on Good Morning Britain, didn't realise Piers Morgan was host. Won't go on with him after his comments about #WomensMarch,” he wrote on Twitter.
According to Morgan, the actor arrived at the ITV studio but refused to do the interview and exited the building.
Morgan immediately hit back at McGregor on Twitter, suggesting the actor should have appeared on the show to openly debate the issue.
“Sorry to hear that Ewan McGregor - you should be big enough to allow people different political opinions. You're just an actor after all,” he said.
Morgan insisted him and co-host Susanna Reid had no intention of talking to McGregor about the Women’s March on the show.
On Saturday, McGregor expressed solidarity with the Women’s Marches which both of his daughter’s attended.
“I'm with you in spirit today women of the world. My daughters are marching. I'm so proud to see this extraordinary power,” McGregor wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Protesters took to the streets in 60 countries and on seven continents across the world to promote equal rights for women and defend marginalised groups.
A representative for McGregor did not immediately respond to request for comment.
