A fathers’ rights activist left Kate Garraway seething as he unfastened his trousers live on Good Morning Britain in a lewd stunt.
Matt O’Connor, a Fathers4Justice campaigner, appeared on the daytime show to argue against calls for Father’s Day to be banned, as it’s no longer relevant in today’s society because of the increase in blended families.
He fumed: ‘If people want to get rid of father’s day because of blended families, well have your own day. Don’t hijack our day.’
Despite support from the presenter who said that Mother’s Day shouldn’t be banned either, Matt grew increasingly angry.
He claimed he had been ‘treated like an outcast’ in the ITV studio ahead of his appearance, before unzipping his trousers.
A panicked Kate and her co-host Ranvir Singh pleaded with him to stop as he whipped out some stuffed furry balls and threw them on the desk in front of them.
Fathers4Justice campaigner Matt O’Connor pulled the lewd stunt live on Good Morning Britain during a debate about father’s day
He unzipped his trousers and pulled out fake fluffy balls during the debate about banning father’s day on the daytime TV show
The prank left Kate Garraway seething as she blasted the father-of-three for ‘letting down’ other parents
Matt claimed that for some in the country, the day marked a ‘national tragedy’ because of many children that don’t get to see their parents due to individual circumstances.
‘It’s one day of the years to celebrate fathers and to celebrate the role fathers have,’ he said.
‘In my day father’s day is every day, but it is really important to be valued, we value mothers we have a mother’s day.
Presenter Ranvir, who is a single mother, explained that she grew up without her father who died when she was nine and found the day uncomfortable.
And as his fellow guest child development specialist and mother-of-two, Ollwyn Moran, looked on in horror, he abruptly stood up and unfastened his belt.
‘I wanted to say one important thing, I’ve been treating like an outcast today in this studio,’ he claimed as he grappled with his trousers.
A panicked Kate and co-host Ranvir Singh pleaded with Matt to stop what he was doing but he continued
As he whipped out the fake balls and threw them on the desk Kate laughed when she realised what he had done
Matt claimed that he had been kept separated from his fellow guest but Kate refuted the complaint explaining that was how debates were conducted
‘I was put, not in the green room with Ollwyn, I was dumped outside.
‘I’ll show you my balls. For father’s day,’ he said as he threw out fake balls.
Ranvir and Kate immediately explained that there was a ‘technical reason’ the guests were separated, saying that it was normal procedure when conducting debated.
But Matt refused to accept the explanation: ‘It’s not. I’ve been coming here for the last 20 years, and have never been treated like that, to be singled out.
‘That is just typical of how we treat fathers,’ he said.
An unimpressed Kate added: ‘It is shame, because I think you have slightly let dads down there by that stunt.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV from 6am