Piers Morgan clashed with This Morning star Ashley James on Wednesday's show after the pair got into a heated discussion about the meaning of "woke". Joining hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard to discuss the day's headlines, Piers and Ashley were asked: 'Are we too quick to take offence?' The segment followed comments from Sir Nick Clegg, who revealed he once got in trouble with younger colleagues at Meta after making a joke about motivational posters in the office. "I can already see Piers frothing at the mouth," joked Ashley, as Piers prepared to argue that the "wokies" are indeed too quick to be offended. Piers also appeared on the show to promote his new book, Woke Is Dead.
As the discussion continued, Ashley asked: "What do you think 'woke' means? Woke means being aware of social injustice and other people's lived experiences. That's all it means – and it's been weaponised by people like you to write your book."
"Oh, Ashley, do me a favour," Piers shot back. "I'll give an example of woke. I've mentioned this a little earlier, but the last time I appeared with you here, you were a classic wokey that day." To which Ashley added: "Good!"
Piers continued: "Because we had a robust exchange. We disagreed about stuff. It was all pretty respectful. And then I watched your Instagram for the next like three days, where you just played the most violin-laden victim posting endless little comments from your fans about how you survived the monster."
"Which you reposted – and I've got to go through it again!" Ashley interjected.
"You'll be doing it again won't you, they're already saying, 'Aw poor Ashley'," said Piers, to which she joked: "I feel like poor Ashley."
"You're not poor, actually, you're a strong woman," said Piers.
Ashley countered: "I am, but being woke doesn't make you weak, caring about other people's lived experiences. And back in the day, a lot of people went to work and felt uncomfortable with a lot of the jokes. And we see this excuse of banter all the time. And we also see how it creates this culture where more serious stuff gets brushed under the carpet as banter."
