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Dermot O’Leary slammed for response over This Morning furore following Alison Hammond apology

"This is in very poor taste"

Dermot O’Leary has been slammed for a statement he has made on social media.

His words follow public outcry over comments made by both Dermot and his This Morning co-host Alison Hammond on Wednesday (April 5).

Alison and Dermot This Morning

TV presenters Dermot and Alison faced backlash this week over comments made regarding people singing in theatres.

The pair led a discussion on This Morning of the news that a Manchester theatre had stopped audiences singing along to a performance of The Bodyguard.

Dermot and Alison This Morning
Dermot has been slammed for his response to Alison’s apology (Credit: YouTube)

During the segment, Alison expressed her disbelief at the theatre’s reaction, saying: “I’d be devastated! I wouldn’t even go to that production now.”

Her comments went on to spark anger on Twitter, where many accused the 48-year-old presenter of being disrespectful to performers.

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In response to the public outcry, Alison later issued a grovelling apology. She told fans on Twitter and Instagram that she was “truly sorry” about her comments.

Dermot O’Leary slammed on Twitter

Yesterday it was co-host Dermot’s turn to speak out about the situation. In a text-memo shared on both his Twitter and Instagram accounts, he said:

“A lot of people commenting about a reaction to a story we covered on This Morning about the ‘Bodyguard’ show and audiences singing along. Could I politely urge anyone passing judgement on the clip to watch the whole interview… as I was actually arguing AGAINST people singing too loudly in theatres.”

Captioning the statement, “Errr… hello.” on Twitter, Dermot sounded reluctant to have to comment on the controversy.

Dermot O'Leary Instagram Story
Dermot has now also issued a statement on social media (Credit: Instagram)

And what’s more fans didn’t seem thrilled with what he had to say either. Many found fault with Dermot’s suggestion that his comments had been taken out of context.

“You argued against people singing ‘too loudly’? Are you sure you are being misrepresented in this?” asked one follower.

Someone else tweeted: “Weird take, and and a disappointing read if I’m honest. People, don’t sing at all, at ANY volume when you’re watching musicals, unless it’s been okayed by the production.”

Another person said: “Considering the statement Alison released, this is in v poor taste. Regardless of whether you argued for or against, you participated in mocking theatre.”

Read More: Dermot O’Leary baffles This Morning viewers with weird comment to his parents

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