Piers Morgan has sparked a fresh backlash after accusing Beyoncé of “culturally appropriating” Marilyn Monroe in her latest Levi’s campaign.
The former Good Morning Britain host, 60, shared an image of the award-winning singer on X (formerly Twitter), dressed in a bedazzled denim ensemble from a new Levi’s advert. In the photo, Beyoncé sports a cropped denim jacket, matching jeans, curly blonde hair and silver heels — a look many praised online.
But Morgan took a different view, writing: “Very disappointed to see Beyoncé culturally appropriate Marilyn Monroe in her new Levi’s ad.”
His post came amid ongoing controversy surrounding Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle advert, in which a play on the words "genes" and "jeans" prompted criticism for allegedly invoking eugenics-era ideology.
Some critics argued that campaign, which references traits like eye and hair colour being “passed down,” promotes a historically problematic narrative around desirability and whiteness.
Morgan appeared to reference the uproar in his Beyoncé post — but fans weren’t buying it.
“Have a day off,” one user replied, while another commented: “A white British man talking about cultural appropriation. The jokes write themselves.”
Others questioned whether Morgan even understood the concept. “Do you understand… words? Do you know what culture means?” one wrote. Another added simply: “Attention-seeking ting, Piers?”
Several pointed out that Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson, was not a natural blonde nor was she a cultural symbol in the way that Morgan had implied.
Even legendary singer Dionne Warwick weighed in, tweeting: “Getting involved in women’s business again, I see…”
Morgan later defended his post, insisting it was satire: “Oh not you too, Dionne… it was a JOKE!”
He followed up with another tweet, writing: “I would say I can’t believe anyone took my obvious Beyoncé joke post seriously… but I forgot the woke brigade have zero sense of humour.”
It’s not the first time Morgan has caused uproar with his opinions on prominent Black women. In 2021, he famously walked off the GMB set after refusing to apologise for comments about Meghan Markle, claiming he didn’t believe her mental health struggles following her royal interview with Oprah.
