POLL: Was Cliff Richard out of order for ‘fat-shaming’ Elvis Presley? | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV
Sir Cliff Richard has been accused of “fat-shaming” Elvis Presley during his recent appearance on This Morning – but did the Summer Holiday hitmaker go too far with his comments?
Sir Cliff sat down with This Morning host Alison Hammond on Monday’s instalment of the programme to discuss his 65-year career in the music industry.
However, the interview took an unexpected turn when the 83-year-old admitted he once refused to have a picture taken with Elvis because he was “overweight” at the time.
When asked if he’d met the Suspicious Minds star, who died aged 42 years old, Sir Cliff replied: “No, I did not, I had one chance through a journalist when I was promoting Devil Woman in the States.
“He said, ‘Oh, I know Elvis’ because he knew I was influenced and he said, ‘Do you want to meet him?’
“And I said, ‘Yeah’, at the end of the interview though I said, ‘Can we put it off?’ He had put on a lot of weight and I thought, ‘If I am having a photograph taken with him and it’s going to be hanging on my refrigerator, he has got to look good.'”
“So I put it off and then, of course, he died,” Sir Cliff concluded on the ITV programme.
However, Alison did not let Sir Cliff’s remark slide as she said: “You should never have put it off just because they’re a little bit heavier.
The interview sparked a huge backlash online, with fans accusing Sir Cliff of “fat-shaming” Elvis.
Rob penned on Twitter: “Cliff Richard was on @thismorning and the only one who called him out on his body-shaming bulls**t was
@AlisonHammond.”
Another fan said: “As if #cliffrichard just fat-shamed Elvis on @thismorning. Surely it shouldn’t matter what someone looked like to have a picture.”
Laura remarked: “#CliffRichard having the cheek to slag off Elvis when his early career was basically an impersonation of the King himself.”
Express.co.uk wants to know if you believe Sir Cliff went too far with his comment. Or was it a reasonable remark to make? Take the poll below to vote.
This Morning airs on weekdays at 10am on ITV and ITVX.
