sansa here to fuck shit up

Sophie Turner Claps Back at Piers Morgan’s Ignorant Comments About Mental Health

Feed him to the dogs, Sansa.
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There’s three things you can count on in this life: death, taxes, and Piers Morgan’s ability to be an unbelievable asshat. Morgan responded on Twitter to an interview with British actress Beverley Callard, where Callard discussed her history of depression. The Coronation Street star said, “Real mental illness is very dark and it takes a great deal of strength to ask for help. I think we are now definitely chipping away at the stigma. But we have to be careful mental illness doesn’t become like a Gucci handbag. There is a danger it can become ‘fashionable'”.

It’s a weird take, especially since Callard is an ambassador for British mental health non-profit Mind. Backing her up is Prince of Bad Takes Piers Morgan, who tweeted the following:

Sophie Turner, best known for playing Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones, was quick to respond to Morgan’s tweet:

Turner replied, “Or maybe they have a platform to speak out about it and help get rid of the stigma of mental illness which affects 1 in 4 people in UK per year. But please go ahead and shun them back into silence. Twat.”

Morgan fired back, calling Turner a “C-list actress” and bragging that he has more Twitter followers than her and earns more at the box office, the latter of which is categorically untrue. Morgan is clearly jealous of Turner’s success and cultural relevance, of which he has neither. Not to mention, there’s nothing grosser than a man trying to bait a woman less than half his age.

Turner responded with several eloquent tweets about mental illness, saying:

The response from Morgan is hardly surprising, as his understanding of mental health and gender dynamics come straight from a soggy old Playboy he found in the woods. Other recent Morgan missteps include disparaging Daniel Craig for carrying his baby, making sexist remarks about female singers, and getting trolled by a 93-year-old Dick Van Dyke on Twitter. You know you’re a shitty person when even Captain America himself calls you out.

Granted, this is all part and parcel of Morgan’s liberal-baiting persona. And while most of it just ignorant nonsense, his remarks about mental health are wildly irresponsible and damaging. Statistics show that 26% of American adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder, and 9.5% will suffer from a depressive illness. In England, a sixth of the population is suffering from some sort of mental illness, with severe symptoms on the rise. Men especially suffer, thanks to sexist and outdated cultural norms that them to stay silent and not seek help. As a result, suicide is the biggest killer of English men under 49.

Also, who out there is benefiting from “fashionable” mental illness? Are people getting jobs and endorsement deals for opening up about their own struggles? It’s the same broken logic that says that women accusing men of sexual harassment are just doing it to get famous. Name ONE woman who made a career off of being sexually harassed.

If the Twitter response is any indication, most people are siding with Turner and her openness and encouragement to seek help. It’s 2019, and the days of shaming anyone for mental illness are over and done with. The only folks who disagree are dusty old relics of broken masculinity like Piers Morgan.

(via Huffington Post, image: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for New York Comic Con)

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Author
Image of Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea Steiner
Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.