GMB viewers slam Richard Madeley for toe-curling interview as he grills Gary Lineker over political tweets
GOOD Morning Britain viewers have hit out at Richard Madeley after a very awkward interview with Gary Lineker on today’s show.
Match of the Day host Gary was on the programme via video link to talk about his Saturday night gameshow, Sitting on a Fortune.
But the segment followed a very different path after just a handful of questions as Richard decided to grill Gary over his political tweets from earlier in the year.
One tweet, in which Gary likened Conservative Party rhetoric about migrants to that of 1930s Germany, saw him temporarily taken off air by the BBC after he was accused of breaching the Corporation’s impartiality rules.
After a high-profile stand-off, Gary and the BBC buried the hatchet and he returned to the MOTD studio without further punishment.
Even though the issue has been long since resolved, Richard asked Gary he felt about the tweet with the benefit of hindsight.
Clearly uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, Gary hit out at Richard for misinterpreting him.
He said: “Already you’ve misrepresented what I said, and that’s what happened because of the Daily Mail headline which caused this furrow in the first place.
“I didn’t compare the government to the Nazis, I didn’t talk about the Holocaust, I didn’t do any of that. All I said was, some of the language is not dissimilar to that used back in the thirties in Germany and there is a substantial difference in that.
“But it’s amazing how many people do think that, because they see a front page headline of a newspaper. But that’s water under the bridge now. All is well with the world, it was a very disproportionate story… common sense prevailed.”
“I didn’t compare the Government to the Nazis. I was talking about some of the language that is not dissimilar.”
Richard followed by asking: “What would you like to say Tory MPs, you don’t have to say anything, but those who say you can be a politician or a public broadcaster?”
Remaining calm and composed, Gary said flatly: “I think I can, and I am, and I think it’s really important if you’ve got a big platform to use it for good that’s what I’ve always done and try to do. People who complain about this are often campaigners of free speech, you can’t have it both ways.”
Viewers were largely on the side of the former England striker, with one writing: “POOR interview this morning, no need to bring up that old tweet now, gutter reporting, Gary came to talk about football, but well handled Gary!”
Another said: “Gary won’t say it but I will ‘shut up Richard'”
A third asked: “Why is Madeley bringing this up again!?”
Anopther fumed: “Wtf is wrong with Richard Madeley! His interview with Gary Lineker was repugnant! Why is he still there trying to be clever and controversial – get rid of him!”