Piers Morgan slammed for comparing Naomi Osaka to Meghan Markle: 'You hate Black women'

On Sunday, May 30, Osaka was fined $15,000 after skipping her mandatory news conference following her first-round win at the French Open. She was also threatened with harsher penalties. Following this, Osaka withdrew from the French Open, announcing on Monday, May 31, on social media that she will "take some time away from the court". 

Osaka, in a lengthy statement, said she "never wanted to be a distraction" and that her withdrawal was "the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being." She wrote, "I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris. I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and message could have been clearer."

Morgan, in his Daily Mail column, called Osaka “an arrogant spoiled brat whose fame and fortune appears to have inflated her ego to gigantic proportions.” Morgan, who called the Japanese tennis pro a "petulant little madam" in a tweet about his DailyMail column, argued that her attempt to avoid legitimate media scrutiny by weaponizing mental health to justify her boycott was “contemptible.”

Morgan referred to Osaka’s stance as an “orgy of narcissistic twaddle” and said that “she has no problem with the media lauding her undeniable brilliance with a tennis racket, right to the point they say anything negative, however reasonably and fact-based, because then they're damaging her mental health.” Morgan said that this was “straight out of the Meghan and Harry playbook of wanting to have the world's largest cake and eating it, by exploiting the media for ruthlessly commercial self-promotion but using mental health to silence any media criticism.”

He wrote, “We're seeing mental health being used more and more as an excuse for deplorable behavior,” adding, “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex use it constantly as a protective shield to launch savage attacks on the Royal Family, and to get journalists like me who don't believe them fired.”

Online, Morgan was heavily criticized for his column. “Piers Morgan when a famous woman sets her own boundaries,” wrote a Twitter user, sharing the Michael Jordan ‘And I Took That Personally’ meme. “Piers Morgan, who literally walked off the set in the middle of his own show after getting the mildest possible pushback for his obsessive criticism of a female POC, has some thoughts about how a female POC should honor her professional obligations,” wrote another Twitter user. 

The New York Time’s Wajahat Ali said, “Piers Morgan walked off his studio because he couldn't even withstand hearing mild criticism from his colleague. The man is the most fragile, brittle spirit. He's a nothing compared to Naomi Osaka.” Another Twitter user said along the same lines: “First Meghan Markle & now Naomi Osaka. Just a reminder that Piers Morgan quitted his own show after being politely criticized for literally 30 seconds after he spent years going after Meghan. The fact that this bully walked out after such minor criticism shows his hypocrisy.”  

Another critical tweet said: "Meghan Markle & Naomi Osaka are women of color who are at the peak of human social strata & both have complained of depression wrought on them by the media. Instead of embracing them, Britain allows race-whistlers like Piers Morgan to pooh-Pooh their mental anguish. Has to stop" Political commentator Ameshia Cross had similar sentiments tweeting: "@piersmorgan just say you hate Black women and get it over with. Your hateful hit pieces don't need to be disguised as anything else. Btw nothing is more petulant than walking off your own show because you didn't like a comment. Look in the mirror you old bloke"

After Morgan was criticized for attacking women of color, the journalist shared a photo with Serena Williams, saying: “Yes trolls, I have a real problem with female black tennis stars....” He added in another tweet: "What journalist will dare criticise Naomi Osaka ever again? She’s got what she wanted - no more criticism, only praise. Meanwhile all her fellow tennis professionals will continue to fulfil their contractual obligations to the media & get criticism when deserved. This seem fair?"