British journalist Piers Morgan called Naomi Osaka a "spoiled brat" following her decision to drop out of the French Open Roland-Garros tournament.
She had previously announced she would skip out on press conferences to protect her mental health – a decision that cost her $15,000 in fines.
Athletes are contractually obligated to participate in post-match press conferences unless they are not physically able to, according to the official Grand Slam rulebook.
But many fans supported Osaka, who believes the mandatory rule is "outdated."
The four-time Grand Slam singles champion said about her decision to step down from the tournament in a tweet on Monday:
"The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that."
"I've watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room, and I know you have as well."
"I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they're down and I don't understand the reasoning behind it."
pic.twitter.com/EegFSKnoie— NaomiOsaka\u5927\u5742\u306a\u304a\u307f (@NaomiOsaka\u5927\u5742\u306a\u304a\u307f) 1622064285
@naomiosaka/Twitter
Former Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan was none too pleased with Osaka's announcement.
He gave his unsolicited opinion in a lengthy diatribe. In his Daily Mail Online column, the conservative pundit called Osaka "petulant" and an "arrogant spoiled brat whose fame and fortune appears to have inflated her ego to gigantic proportions."
When Morgan shared his column on Twitter, he made certain to add another swipe at Duchess Meghan Markle.
*NEW COLUMN*\nNarcissistic Naomi's cynical exploitation of mental health to silence the media is right from the Meghan & Harry playbook of wanting their press cake and eating it. \nhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9636993/PIERS-MORGAN-Narcissistic-Naomis-cynical-exploitation-mental-health-silence-media.html\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/iAj5ivzOBc— Piers Morgan (@Piers Morgan) 1622466492
Morgan went on to call Osaka's social media post about her announcement "narcissistic twaddle."
Morgan, a tabloid journalist since 1988, used his utter lack of training in psychology or psychiatry to claim it had nothing to do with Osaka's mental health.
"What Osaka really means is that she doesn't want to face the media if she hasn't played well, because the beastly journalists might actually dare to criticize her performance, and she's not going to 'subject' herself to 'people that doubt me'."
His latest statements again drew accusations of racism and misogyny.
It really astounds me that you spend so much time attacking women of colour in the public eye. And you seem to be obsessed with Meghan. Paid to make baseless attacks for absolutely no good reason. I wonder if you\u2019ll ever look back on this and experience shame.— Rhammel (@Rhammel) 1622530300
He simply cannot let his hatred of Meghan go. It\u2019s really kind of sad how threatened he is by a self-empowered woman of color who shook up his elitist world.— Bonnie-Ann Keagy (@Bonnie-Ann Keagy) 1622506216
Every time you go after a strong woman of color it says so much more about you than it does about them. They are admitting vulnerability and being open and honest. You are admitting jealousy and being petulant and judgemental. You really are a sad little man.— Donna Howard (@Donna Howard) 1622489782
https://twitter.com/Coldwar_Steve/status/1399663423894568960?s=20\u00a0\u2026— Loft4Words (@Loft4Words) 1622545764
Citing "arrogant spoiled brat," many social media users recalled Morgan storming off the set of Good Morning Britain during a live broadcast in March.
Piers Morgan walked off his own show\u2019s set after 90 seconds of gentle critique but can\u2019t understand why Naomi Osaka withdrew from one tennis match after years of media ignited mental health struggles. Smhhttps://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1399352009388658691\u00a0\u2026— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@Qasim Rashid, Esq.) 1622513487
Morgan ultimately quit the show after facing backlash for his negative comments about Meghan Markle and her mental health amidst allegations of racism leveled at the Crown.
At the time, Good Morning Britain co-star Alex Beresford confronted Morgan for accusing the Duchess of Sussex of being a liar after she told Oprah she was depressed and had contemplated suicide.
Beresford commented on speculations of Morgan's lingering bitterness about allegedly being ghosted by Markle and said:
"I understand that you don't like Meghan Markle. You've made it so clear a number of times on this program, and I understand that you had a personal relationship with Meghan Markle and she cut you off."
"Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. And yet you continue to trash her."
People were quick to remind Morgan about his dramatic TV meltdown.
just sharing this again\u2026pic.twitter.com/d9OjCEJtzB— smoothlikebutter (@smoothlikebutter) 1622477597
So.. you are saying that not being able to stay in a room for a few minutes with a handful of media people doing their job is unacceptable.. I see what to you did there.https://www.theguardian.com/media/video/2021/mar/09/diabolical-behaviour-piers-morgan-storms-off-good-morning-britain-video\u00a0\u2026— KO! Media (@KO! Media) 1622484591
@MaxKennerly/Twitter
This you...? \n\nCRY HARDER, Those ytprivilege tears are great in outdoor floor-wash pic.twitter.com/iG54pwVOjb— Breonna Taylor Couldn\u2019t Cast Her Vote_NeverForget (@Breonna Taylor Couldn\u2019t Cast Her Vote_NeverForget) 1622496469
Still trying to figure out the trigger. Competence and success at a young age? Race? Projection around mental health? \n\nThis is vile from a man who stormed off his own show during some gentle scrutiny from a co-worker. \n\nOr any attention is better than none for him?— Dorothy Dalton \ud83d\udca5 (@Dorothy Dalton \ud83d\udca5) 1622537016
Morgan was also lambasted for attacking women of color and downplaying and dismissing their struggles with depression.
Is it ALL women or just women of colour you have a problem with?— Stu Donaldson (@Stu Donaldson) 1622476953
Which successful non-white woman has upset you this time, Alan?— Chas Newkey-Burden (@Chas Newkey-Burden) 1622482586
First it's Meghan, a little black girl who'd the audacity to marry into British royal family. Now, another black girl who's world no. 1 in tennis and Piers can't take it. It's either subtle racism or just attention seeking, a search for relevance.— francis white (@francis white) 1622499263
Morgan once again took aim at the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex in his column as well as his Twitter caption.
"This is 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."
The sooner we accept that Piers Morgan is just racist the better. He just can't stop talking about Meghan, the article is about Naomi but some how he managed to bring in Meghan.— Kamo Marven (@Kamo Marven) 1622496345
Piers, I see you\u2019re at the anger stage with regards to Meghan. Breaking up isn\u2019t easy in most cases, but any fantasy you had of being with Meghan was all in your head. Let it go FFS— Robert Sproggit \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f\ud83d\udc99 (@Robert Sproggit \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc63\udb40\udc74\udb40\udc7f\ud83d\udc99) 1622474218
Others pointed out a flaw in his claim when he called Osaka, "narcissistic."
Piers Morgan\u2019s desperate attention grab at Naomi Osaka\u2019s expense, just helped prove her point.\n#NaomiOsaka #FrenchOpenpic.twitter.com/p7Vkg7H10e— Christopher \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Proud Dem (@Christopher \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Proud Dem) 1622504309
Naomi has every right not to give press interviews. There are many quieter, more shy girls & boys who are extremely capable at tennis who will be put off by the requirement to speak to the press. They are tennis players. Not public speakers. Ability to talk in public is not sport— Pattie McElroy (@Pattie McElroy) 1622472716
Naomi Osaka is an outstanding elite athlete, multiple Grand Slam winner who has stood up for human rights & what she believes in. She is incredibly shy by nature but clearly tries to overcome this. She has WITHDRAWN now. Her mental health is more important than your headlines— Sue \ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83d\udcbb\u2618\ufe0f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea (@Sue \ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83d\udcbb\u2618\ufe0f\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea) 1622492002
And those who struggle with depression shared their thoughts.
Your language/tone and rage at Harry forces ppl like me to suffer in silence - we suffer because we are scared of being judged - scared of sympathy...\n\nAll we want is to be heard - I have suicidal thoughts...— Steve Jones (@Steve Jones) 1622487640
As a former athlete and someone who\u2019s dealt with depression this is more than smh \u2014 this hurts and it is infuriating.— Jen (@Jen) 1622513974
Morgan ended his column with an insincere apology.
"And I'm sorry (not really…) if this offends any of the delicate little snowflakes out there who believe all this self-serving garbage, but Osaka's antics stink of a stupendous ego raging out [of] control."
In her post announcing she would not participate in press conferences, Osaka explained how potentially detrimental they can be for vulnerable athletes.
She wrote:
"I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one."
"We're often sat there and asked questions that we've been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I'm just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me."
On Monday, she confirmed withdrawing was the best decision for the tournament and for her well-being. She asked fans to focus on the matches currently underway in Paris.