Munroe Bergdorf has spoken out about her decision to use the n-word during a live segment on Tuesday’s (19 December) ‘Good Morning Britain’.
The ‘New Activists’ star had been invited on ‘GMB’ to discuss Twitter’s new policy on “hateful conduct”, which has led to the suspension of several accounts, including far-right organisation Britain First and its key members.
While discussing online comments she’s regularly on the receiving end of, including those which are racist in nature, Munroe said the n-word, much to the chagrin of presenter Piers Morgan and Munroe’s fellow guest, broadcaster Ed Adoo.
During the segment, she insisted she’d use the racist term “for a reason”, while Piers interjected: “We’d like you to stop using the word… my view of that, by the way, is the more that people use it, of any colour, the worse it is.”
After asking for a chance to explain herself, Munroe added: “This reaction to me using the n-word, is seen as more violent than the fact that we are actually called it.
“You can’t just go round targeting… especially black women in the media.”
As she continued to explain, Susanna Reid then also interjected, requesting that she not use the word again, which Munroe agreed to.
After the segment aired, Munroe took to Twitter to explain why she’d used the term, writing: “My use of the n-word was not random or [without] purpose.
“I wanted to highlight that the outrage of a black woman saying it around white people is often met with more outrage than the fact that black women in the media are barraged with this word by some white social media users.
“I do realise that as it was morning television it may raise some eyebrows, but me identifying the abuse that I’m called almost every day is not the issue and definitely not what the press should focus on, the people who carry out this abuse, that is the issue.
“I agree with Twitter’s decision to ban the leaders of Britain First as a move to remove those who insist on spreading hatred on the platform. My use of the n-word on the show was with reference to what I personally am called almost on a daily basis by such individuals”
Back in September, Labour MP Diane Abbott used the n-word during a similar discussion about online abuse on ‘GMB’, with many pointing out the hypocrisy of criticising her rather than the Twitter users who target her with racist abuse.
Months prior, Katie Price also came under fire for using the term during an interview on ‘This Morning’, where she described the racist comments she regularly receives about her teenage son, Harvey.