Piers Morgan vs. Andrew Tate: A Toxic, Fruitless Clash by Design

How does one describe Piers Morgan’s interview with Andrew Tate? The former *News of the World* editor hosted the popular right-wing influencer and alleged sex trafficker on his *Uncensored* interview web series last night. The conversation took place amid a week of violent, racist rioting across the UK. Tate was among the prominent voices sharing the false claim that the man who murdered three young children in Southport was an illegal migrant. As racially motivated riots and hate crimes broke out, Tate continued to share inflammatory anti-migrant posts with his millions of followers. “You’ve been spewing stuff that is blatantly racist,” Morgan told Tate, in what felt like a downward spiral into a contentious debate.

Seldom has the gap between the stated intentions of Morgan’s show and its evident agenda been so glaring. Ostensibly, the ex-*Good Morning Britain* presenter was positioning himself as a journalistic truth-teller. Morgan has recently engaged in similarly provocative interviews with figures like Armie Hammer and Kevin Spacey, both actors accused of sexual assault, and Fiona Harvey, the inspiration for a stalker character on Netflix’s *Baby Reindeer*. His goal here, he claimed, was holding Tate accountable for spreading misinformation. True to the show’s premise, Tate was given a full, uncensored hour to pontificate on race, immigration, and politics, while Morgan attempted to expose his guest’s contradictions and falsehoods.

What ensued was a repetitive, insistent quiz laced with constant interruptions and raised voices. At one point, Morgan snapped, “The sheer brass neck of you, Andrew, lecturing me about the truth when you’ve spent the last week spewing complete fake news, is breathtaking.” No ground was gained; nothing of substance was conceded. Tate deflected every attempt to make him apologize or acknowledge the fact that he had disseminated racist lies that incited violence. Still, this was touted as “explosive television.”

Morgan described it as “one of the most explosive interviews” he’d ever conducted. However, there was nothing in the interview truly meriting that term. Tate was confrontational but never conceded to the scrutiny. Morgan questioned him about online misinformation, his views on immigration, his support for far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, feeling “thrown under the bus” by Nigel Farage, backlash from the Muslim community, and the riots. On all fronts, Tate refused to admit fault, reiterating his beliefs. “Perhaps I was wrong that he was an illegal migrant, and he was only a migrant,” he conceded. “However, I was right about most of the things I’ve said.” Every attempt at “gotcha” journalism was stonewalled by Tate, a man who evades accountability. The full video garnered a million YouTube views in a few hours and even more in snippets on social media. If the mission was to attract views, it was a success.

It would be incorrect to see Morgan’s interview as an anomaly; it simply continues a career steeped in sensationalism. The nature of Morgan’s series—designed for YouTube and free from the regulations of traditional broadcast TV—facilitates this. For example, the BBC’s interview with Tate last year was more rigorous, scrutinizing his scandals without giving him as much leeway. On the internet, the driving force is click-bait, and in this regard, Morgan’s tactics work: his popular videos often exceed 20 million views and sometimes attract larger audiences than BBC or Sky News.

In this changing media landscape, Morgan, a relic of British tabloid press and conventional TV, finds himself in a precarious position. Racist violence in the UK is disturbing and complicated by social media’s influence. Over the past week, Morgan has also exchanged words with Twitter/X CEO Elon Musk, whose predictions of a “civil war” in the UK have needlessly fueled tensions. Meanwhile, positive action is happening offline through mass counter-protests. Thousands of people have gathered in cities across the UK to oppose the racist outbreaks. They are holding hateful individuals to genuine account. Morgan remains little more than a sideshow.

Source: Independent, BBC, Sky News