Brits may be known for politeness and restraint, but two of England’s best-known exports aren’t holding back in a Twitter war. Or should we say row.
TV personality Piers Morgan and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling sparred back and forth over American politics Friday and Saturday after Rowling expressed her satisfaction at a talk show clip in which Morgan had an expletive directed at him.
He said, she said
It all started when Morgan, a former CNN host and judge on Britain’s Got Talent, defended the U.S. government’s travel ban during an appearance on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday.
Former CNN host Piers Morgan faced off with Australian comic Jim Jefferies on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, saying Trump’s executive order is “not a Muslim ban and sparking Rowling’s Twitter wrath. (Fred Prouser/Reuters)
Morgan faced off with Australian comic Jim Jefferies on the episode during a discussion of the executive order. Morgan, who has described Donald Trump as a friend in the past and appeared on Trump’s former reality show Celebrity Apprentice, said it was “not a Muslim ban.”
That’s when Jefferies dropped the F-bomb and Rowling dropped her first tweet, writing, “Yes, watching Piers Morgan being told to f–k off on live TV is *exactly* as satisfying as I’d always imagined.”
Rowling’s ‘arrogance’
What followed was a flurry of exchanges between Rowling and Morgan, many of which used explicit language.
Morgan responded to Rowling, saying he’d never read a word of her uber-popular fantasy series. He also slammed her “superior, dismissive arrogance.”
In return, Rowling called Morgan a “celebrity toady” who is “fact-free and “amoral” with “bigotry-apologism.”
The superior, dismissive arrogance of rabid Remain/Clinton supporters like @jk_rowling is, of course, precisely why both campaigns lost.
.@piersmorgan If only you’d read Harry Potter, you’d know the downside of sucking up to the biggest bully in school is getting burned alive.
No bigger bullies right now than the shrieking, hysterical anti-Trump celebrity brigade.
You lost, so suck it up Dolores. https://t.co/RFQkyJWxZ5
Get the popcorn
Judging from the number of responses and growing attention, people just couldn’t look away or resist chiming in, including Silicon Valley actor Kumail Nanjiani, Star Trek legend George Takei and House of Lies star Don Cheadle.
. @jk_rowling vs. Piers Morgan
It’s like having to choose between donuts & the flu.
—
@kumailn
No, it’s because you lack imagination, and small children instinctively fear you. @jk_rowling https://t.co/TIPg8POLQ6
Delicious!! https://t.co/xORi9K5T4t
Morgan has maintained a fighting spirit with his retweets and replies but looks like Rowling did a mic drop.
