Ewan McGregor pulled out of an appearance on Good Morning Britain less than an hour before he was due to go on. The Scottish actor said that he refused to sit down with Piers Morgan following the presenter's comments about the women's marches.
Ewan, who was set to talk about his new film T2 Trainspotting, tweeted: "Was going on Good Morning Britain, didn't realise @piersmorgan was host. Won't go on with him after his comments about #WomensMarch."
Piers hit back, replying: "Sorry to hear that @mcgregor_ewan - you should be big enough to allow people different political opinions. You're just an actor after all."
He added: "A real man would have come on and debated it with me, not run away like a coward."
© Photo: Getty ImagesEwan explained: "Won't go on with him after his comments about #WomensMarch"
During the show Piers and co-host Susanna Reid apologised for the actor's absence. "Sorry that Ewan McGregor's not here. He couldn't bear the thought of being on the sofa with me because he doesn't agree with me about the women's march," said Piers. "I have to agree with what an actor thinks about a particular issue because they're actors. And as we know actors' views are more important than anybody else's."
Susanna tweeted that it was a "shame" Ewan didn't debate the topic on air. "Challenge views where there's difference," she wrote. "Would have liked to see that debate on air - it's an important one."
© Photo: RexPiers replied: "A real man would have come on and debated it with me"
After the show, Piers wrote an article on the Mail Online, revealing what exactly happened that morning. He explained: "McGregor arrived with a large Hollywood-style entourage at the ITV studios in London, where I currently co-host Good Morning Britain. They were all escorted to the green room, where an argument then started with our editorial team because McGregor apparently hadn't realized I was going to be involved with the interview.
"He refused point blank to do it unless I was removed and it was performed by my co-host Susanna Reid. This demand was denied, as were further demands for the interview to be severely shortened and to be restricted purely to talk about his new movie, Trainspotters 2. So, enraged that he couldn't do the interview on the terms he wanted, McGregor left."
Piers added that it was "shockingly unprofessional" for Ewan to let down viewers and the Good Morning Britain team. He clarified that he never argued against women's rights to march.
© Photo: RexThe presenter pretended to cry after Ewan's decision to snub the show
On Monday, the presenter had written an article highlighting the "repellent side of feminism". He blamed public figures including Madonna for whipping protestors into a "man-hating frenzy".
"Ladies, I love you. But if you let the nasty women win, you lose," he concluded.
Ewan, meanwhile, had tweeted his support for the weekend protestors, writing: "I'm with you in spirit today women of the world. My daughters are marching. I'm so proud to see this extraordinary power."
