Piers Morgan has been slammed by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) after he introduced his TalkTV show 'Piers Uncensored' while holding a pig.
The 58-year-old former Good Morning Britain presenter used the piglet as a prop as he intimated that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on the slippery slope out of Downing Street, when his show went live on July 6.
Piers said that Boris, who at the time was facing down the 38 MPs who had resigned at that point, was "a piglet running out of grease," as he hit out at the Prime Minister's refusal to resign.
A spokesperson for animal rights organisation PETA has joined viewers in blasting Piers for using a live pig to make his point, saying that it was "cruel".
Piers opened his show holding the animal and said: "Good evening, on Piers Morgan: Uncensored tonight, Boris Johnson must go.
"The greased piglet of politics has slipped and squirmed through almost three disastrous years of disorder and deceit."
The pig seemed pretty docile in the arms of Piers as he continued: "38 resignations in two days have butchered his government and tonight, surely, nothing can now save his bacon."
Speaking to The Express, Jennifer White, media and communications manager for PETA, hit out at Piers, saying: "When I called Piers Morgan a pig on Good Morning Britain, I explained to him that they’re highly intelligent, sensitive animals, so he should know better than to use them as props for his shtick.
"A loud, bright studio is no place for a piglet. PETA urges the show’s producers to implement a no-animal policy to prevent more animals from being dragged into a stressful situation that’s entirely unsuitable for them.
"Furthermore, the phrase “greased piglet” has cruel origins, referring to a fairground game in which terrified animals were covered in grease and chased by the public – the “winner” being whoever could catch the exhausted animal.
"All media, including Morgan’s show, would be wise to nix this lingo from their coverage of the ongoing situation in Parliament and leave intelligent pigs out of it."
Piers will no doubt feel it helped make his point and less than 24 hours later, Boris had fallen on his sword and stood outside number 10 to tell the nation that he was resigning.
This time, no pigs were involved in the live broadcast.
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