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Muhammad Ali Called A Racist By Talk Show Host Piers Morgan, Controversy Ensues

By Val Powell
Published on: 01:47 PST, Jun 6, 2016

Muhammad Ali seems to be generating more and more press days after his death, thanks to Piers Morgan and his onslaught of tweets.

The famous boxer, dubbed as the greatest of all time, died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Friday, June 3. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease for several years before his death.

The controversy all began when Piers Morgan tweeted on Sunday saying that Muhammad Ali is far more racist than Donald Trump. The message has since generated almost 3,900 retweets and more than 4,600 likes as of this writing.

The tweet did not sit well with many, as outrage broke almost immediately after he posted the message. However, instead of taking things in stride, the television host did not back down, Breitbart noted. Piers Morgan even questioned why his tweet generated so much controversy.

Piers Morgan also seemed to have taunted Muhammad Ali when he gave his apology.

Several minutes later, he also tweeted that the boxer wanted a ban on mixed marriages.

The television host then shared an interview of Muhammad Ali with BBC, saying that people would understand better his point if they watch the clip.

Piers Morgan ended his tweets hinting that he would never apologize for the statements that he made.

Hollywood Life noted, though, that Muhammad Ali didn’t mean any harm with his statements. It also said that by the end of the video, the highly-acclaimed boxer even said, “I don’t hate nobody.”

Even celebrities John Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen slammed the host for his statements. The singer said via a tweet, “You could test us by announcing your retirement.”

The model then seemed to have continued her husband’s statements saying, “From what? trolling isn’t a job (I’ve tried)”.

The comments seemed to have irked the host as he shot back tweeting, “Maybe I should take up a proper job, like modelling?” The new mother did not back down though as she hit back with another tweet, “It keeps me nice and not-racist so sure, give it a go.”

When Piers Morgan appeared on Good Morning Britain on Monday, the television personality was far from being apologetic, the Mirror reported. He was talking to barrister Miranda Brawn when he said that Muhammad Ali was “incredibly controversial.”

“His preferred world is segregated. Black people living with black people, white people living with white people,” Piers Morgan said.

He even noted that some of the boxer’s comments would generate “an incredibly different reaction” had he said now what he did back then. However, Brawn contested the host’s statements, and she reminded him how Muhammad Ali has helped “improve self-pride amongst black people.”

“If you look at the interview where he said that, he said we’ve got to get the black people sorted first. We’ve got to integrate black people and make them have a sense of pride,” said Brawn.

“He was one of the first black people to say being black is beautiful,” she added.

Taking off from her comments, Piers Morgan seemed to have changed gear about the boxer, who he called a “pivotal figure.” He then said, “It does take courage. People need to be unafraid to be bold.”

[Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images]

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