This Morning fans have issued a plea to ITV after Alison Hammond‘s use of phrase “committed suicide” in an interview with a bereaved father today (July 20).
Alison and co-host Dermot O’Leary interviewed Mariano Jannin about the death of his daughter Mia on the show today.
She tragically took her own life in March 2021 and he is now looking for “justice”.
However, while many viewers were heartbroken by the tragedy, others pointed to Alison’s language, claiming she “isn’t equipped for interviews like this”.
Bereaved father appears on This Morning
Mariano spoke to Alison and Dermot about his beloved daughter Mia, who took her own life.
He believes his daughter had been bullied online the night before her death and urged parents to ensure they had access to all social media platforms for their own children.
“I believed she had a really bad day at school. And then by social media, because she was up until late night online, but the problem is we need access to the phone,” he said.
“In a way, I need to get closure, so I need to find what happened to Mia. And I want to know the truth and then I would like to get justice if I can.”
He also added that his wife sadly died just four months after the death of their daughter.
This Morning viewers’ plea to ITV
Fans of This Morning were heartbroken over the interview, and also picked up on Alison’s language during the segment.
One said: “Can we please stop saying ‘committed suicide’? Suicide is not a crime.”
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“Committed suicide makes the person involved look like they have committed some kind of crime or sin,” explained another.
“For years families (myself included) of people who have taken their own lives have been campaigning to get this old-fashioned saying phased out as it comes with a lot of blame and shame,” another added.
Passed away would have been much more gentle. The poor man is broken enough.
Others pointed out that Alison had said the phrase a number of times and asked if ITV had offered any training on how to deal with a bereaved parent.
“Alison clearly hasn’t had any training dealing with a bereaved parent and husband. Passed away would have been much more gentle. The poor man is broken enough,” said one.
“Feels like #ThisMorning should’ve put together guidelines on how to deal with a segment like this, before Alison barges in like a wrecking ball,” another claimed.
“Alison is absolutely the wrong presenter for this and other similar issues,” said another.
‘She asked the questions she was given’
However, not everyone agreed.
Alison fans rallied round the star in response to a post that called for her to be “replaced”.
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Another also said she “isn’t equipped for interviews like this”.
“Disagree,” one supporter commented.
“Equipped? She’s asked the questions she was given,” another alleged.
ED! has contacted This Morning for a comment on this story.
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