John Barnes called out Piers Morgan over his racist Chinese impression

Oonagh Keating. Updated January 22nd, 2020

Nobody would ever accuse Piers Morgan of being too politically correct, but on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain, he chose to illustrate an item about the Queen’s grandson making a milk advert in China with a shocking impression.

Here’s what happened.

John Barnes spotted the unfortunate moment, and this is how he reacted.

Just saw @piersmorgan on GMB mocking Chinese people on the way they speak, what are the odds he faces no criticism for it… there’s an example for Laurence Fox of white privilege

— John Barnes (@officialbarnesy) January 21, 2020

Morgan tried to defend his behaviour, claiming the Chinese weren’t the target of his mockery.

I was mocking a member of the British royal family appearing in an advert for Chinese state milk, not Chinese people. https://t.co/IO5TEXUYmf

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 21, 2020

John Barnes picked a big hole in that one.

Understandable if you were simply doing an impression of Peter… not saying ‘ching chang jom’ and mocking the narrator … as Susanna tried to point out was ‘very 1970s’ https://t.co/cRgEcu0BJF

— John Barnes (@officialbarnesy) January 21, 2020

The incident divided Twitter, with some on John Barnes’ side …

Piers Morgan, as a British Chinese, you did not try mimicking Chinese, what you did is pure racist mockery and you did it repeatedly and then justified it. Literally millions of diaspora Chinese have experienced your shit in their lifes. It was not even funny, you twat. @ofcom https://t.co/SqZVMpEAyA

— Kin F. Kam 金建輝 #FBPE (@DrKinKam) January 22, 2020

Racism confirmed. Peter Philips spoke perfectly clear chinese, good on him. You was just being a racist idiot to the chinese, which is a common occurrence. Fact is, no other language would've been mocked this way by you, give that a thought #GMB #PiersMorgan https://t.co/5ob9Yupi0A

— VS (@ryonakata) January 21, 2020

The media always get away with it. Bringing in people's races and ethnicity. Definitely white privilege but they are oblivious and thing it doesn't exist.

— Shyam Mehta (@ShyamMehta08) 21 January 2020

and some not.

Piers Morgan mimics Lorraine Kelly's voice and Scottish accent all the time. Nobody says a word. Trying to copy a Chinese accent is no different. We live in a world of virtue signallers and easily offended snowflakes….

— COYSpurs (@makkathfc) 21 January 2020

Does a single minute go by in this country without an accusation of racism?!

— Peter Joyes (@peterjoyes) 21 January 2020

Matthew Shankly Wilson had this assessment of the situation.

John Barnes is getting a kick in from people with Union flags in their Twitter names for highlighting racism on TV. I remember seeing John getting bananas routinely thrown at him in the 80's. I think he knows racism when he sees it.

— Matthew Shankly Wilson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇪🇺 (@fuseeventsMatt) 21 January 2020

In case you were curious, here’s the milk ad in full.