British television host Piers Morgan thought it was a good idea to attack former first lady Michelle Obama, but social media critics quickly took him task for his biting remarks.
In a column for the Daily Mail published Wednesday, Morgan slammed Obama for “plunging the bitchy knife firmly into the back of her successor as first lady, Melania Trump.”
“Just when I thought there was one person in public life that soared effortlessly and admirably above the incessantly ugly partisan trash-talk that pervades every second of American airspace these days, Mrs. Obama has let me down,” he wrote, adding, “And frankly, she has let herself down too.”
Morgan went on to accuse the “Becoming” author of taking a “cheap, tacky” shot at Mrs. Trump, particularly when she described leaving the White House for the very last time on President Donald Trump’s inauguration day. During a recent appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” Obama told the host her thoughts that day were simply, “Bye Felicia!”
Morgan, who befriended Trump after winning “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2008, saw the comment as a slight to the current first lady.
“It’s specifically designed to cause hurt to the recipient,” Morgan said of the catchphrase, made famous in the 1995 cult classic “Friday.”
“Michelle Obama likes to pride herself as being street-wise and down with the kids, so will have known all this when she said it,” he continued. “She is a very smart woman too, so she will have also known that ‘Felicia’ is a very similar phonetic name to ‘Melania’, so it would be very obvious to whom she was referring.”
During the show, Obama also joked about the awkward moment when Melania Trump presented her with a bright blue Tiffany’s box outside the White House. Morgan didn’t see what was so funny, however, and criticized the Harvard Law grad for cracking yet another joke at Mrs. Trump’s expense.
“And for a second time, Melania was being humiliated on national television, for the apparent crime of giving her predecessor as First Lady a nice gift,” he wrote.
The TV host said while he considers Obama “a delightful person – warm, friendly and highly personable,” he was shocked by her decision to now “publicly mock, denigrate and ridicule her successor.” He further accused her of “bitchy sniping” at Mrs. Trump and straying from her famous “when they go low, we go high” mantra.
“How sad to now see the same Michelle Obama, a woman I greatly admire, now herself go so low simply to belittle her successor, flog a few more books and further line her already bulging pockets,” Morgan opined.
The harsh criticism hit a nerve with Obama’s supporters, who wasted no time calling Morgan out on what they perceived to be a racially motivated attack.
“@piersmorgan the article pitting Michelle O against Melania was in bad taste & incredibly biased,” one Twitter user wrote. “You have no idea who/what she was referring to when she said Bye Felicia. She appeared to be referring to the White House. You are stirring up hatred & being divisive like your boss.”
“Piers Morgan is a dang fool,” wrote another. “Michelle Obama was clearly talking about the whole White House experience, and not making a personal dig at Melania Trump. But when people are starved for relevancy they’ll make all kinds of bogus commentary just to get …”
One critic put it plainly: “Piers Morgan has issues with women of color. Don’t call Michelle Obama a bitch you pervert.”
