Piers calls congressman 'gutless little twerp' as he skips rape interview
Piers Morgan, increasingly involved in the American political scene,with his CNN show as the US election nears, turned his spotlight on an empty chair yesterday.
It should have been filled by Todd Akin, the Republican Missouri congressman, and candidate for U.S. Senate, who stunned the nation 24 hours earlier by saying on TV that women who are victims of "legitimate rape" are biologically unlikely to become pregnant.
Akin attributed his dubious science to "doctors" and calls poured in from fellow Republicans asking him to withdraw from his challenge against Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill.
Piers, ever willing to fan the flames of a good row, invited Akin on to his show - and the congressman agreed. But he didn't turn up.
So Morgan ,staring at the empty chair, issued the challenge to Akin: "Congressman, you have an open invitation to join me in that chair whenever you feel up to it.
"If you don't keep your promise to be on the show, then you are what we would call in Britain a gutless little twerp."
Within minutes, the phrase "gutless little twerp" was whizzing around the Internet, and even got Twitter's ultimate accolade -- a parody account.
@AkinEmptyChair began churning out criticism of Akin and the Republican White House ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, with puns like: "I am not going to SIT out this Senate race."
Throughout the show, Morgan kept up the live picture of the "empty chair" in the corner of the screen with a banner that said "Exclusive."
Akin, an uncompromising opponent of abortion, has apologised for his remarks, and insists he'll stay in the race. He has even made a TV commercial apologising. You can see it below.
In the ad, he looks into the camera, and says : "Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way and for that I apologise. As the father of two daughters I want tough justice for predators. I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault and I pray for them. The fact is rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness."
However, many in his party are still asking him to withdraw from the U.S. Senate race.
Greg Pollowitz of the right-wing National Review tweeted: "I think the empty chair is out-debating Piers Morgan."
"The chair has a better chance of being elected," tweeted Ben Greenman, an editor at New Yorker magazine.
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