Piers Morgan has accused Steve Coogan of “stinking hypocrisy” over claims the Alan Partridge star has placed his gardener and housekeeper on furlough during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Morgan said Coogan was “worse than Victoria Beckham” after the fashion designer performed a U-turn last month following reports that she had furloughed some of her staff.
Speaking on Thursday morning’s Good Morning Britain show, Morgan said Coogan needed to understand what “being a good socialist boy means”.
“He’s the great man of the people... the man who said ‘I don’t get anything for free, I pay for everything yet he’s furloughing the gardener and housekeeper. Two people he’s furloughing.”
Morgan, who often uses his media platforms to broadcast controversial views, added: “I think what we need is Steve Coogan reform. And to instil in him what being a good socialist boy actually means.
“I pay mine (staff), it’s called doing the right thing.
“This now wins the Victoria Beckham award for tone-deafness when you use government money to pay the staff.”
The row erupted after The Sun reported that Coogan had placed two members of his staff on the government’s job retention scheme.
The Independent has approached Coogan’s representative for comment.
Coogan is not the only celebrity to have faced criticism during the pandemic.
Gordon Ramsay was branded a hypocrite for promoting a “Stay At Home” advert from his Cornwall home.
It came after the Hell’s Kitchen star took his family to a home on the Cornish coast to ride out the lockdown.
