Piers Morgan screws up O'Neal tribute

Piers Morgan has been ridiculed after paying tribute to Patrice O’Neal – but believing the comedian was female

The sincerity of the former Britain's Got Talent host took a bash after he twice described O'Neal as a ‘she’ on his CNN show yesterday.

Morgan – nicknamed ‘Piers Moron’ by Private Eye – realised his mistake only after a clip of O’Neal was screened.

Speaking about O’Neal’s death at the age of 41. a month after he suffered a stroke, Morgan said: ‘It’s been a sad day for comedy, with the death of Patrice O’Neal... she died of a stroke today.

‘I want to take a quick look at Patrice on Jimmy Fallon, just to remind everybody how funny she was.’

After watching the clip, Morgan realised his mistake, but did not acknowledge it, simply calling him ‘a very funny guy’.

The slip came in an interview with US comedy superstar Dane Cook on his CNN show.

Online comments about Morgan included ‘what dick!’, ‘Oh Piers, you stupid cock’ and ‘fake TV scum’

One YouTube user said: ‘It's ironic that a man who's succeeded through a lack of integrity is making these comments about Patrice O'Neal.’

Another said: ‘I know being an irrelevant phony is part of how this guy makes a living, so I can't hate him for this because I don't expect anything more.’

Yesterday, British-based Australian comic Brendon Burns wrote an obituary of O’Neal for Chortle, remembering how audiences often used to assume he was female from his name alone.

Here is the clip, with apologies for the video quality:

Published: 1 Dec 2011