Susanna Reid had to issue an apology when a guest swore live on air during a discussion about her Instagram account ‘dearcatcallers’.
The Good Morning Britain host, 46, was speaking with Dutch student Noa Jansma, 20, about her project which shamed men who had cat-called her in the street with selfies uploaded to her social media page.
But as Noa was describing the type of abusive comments she had received since starting the account she repeated a comment with the swear word ‘m************’.
Susanna had to quickly apologise for the language as co-host Piers Morgan smirked in response beside her.
Student Noa Jansma, who created her own Instagram account called ‘dearcatcallers’, had appeared on the show to say that sexist abuse was not acceptable
After Noa blurted out the swear word Susanna was forced to apologise, above, but pointed out that it was the type of comments the student had received
Noa said: ‘I made this project about respect and how you behave with the people on the street, you just treat them in an equal way and then there are these comments that say, “yeah, you should respect everyone” and then also “this m********** should die”.’
Susanna then cut the interview short as she said: ‘Apologies for the use of that language on television, but it’s an example of the sort of comments heard on the street.’
The student from Netherlands, to call out men who directed unwanted comments at her on the street.
She explained that she wanted to send out the message that sexist abuse is not acceptable, but presenter Piers said that not all the comments she had shared were that extreme.
‘I would be careful about some of these examples, because some of these seem harmless,’ he said.
Presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid both clashed over the debate – with Susanna disagreeing with Eve over her opinion
Eve Pollard, right, said she missed being cat-called and said it was a ‘nice feeling’ to hear, but her fellow guest Harriet Winter (left) didn’t agree
It was followed by a heated debate where Susanna clashed with a guest over whether cat-calling should be banned on Good Morning Britain.
The 46-year-old presenter snapped at former magazine editor Eve Pollard, who admitted that, at 71, she ‘missed being cat-called’.
‘We’re trying to kill all the fun,’ Eve said as Susanna’s co-host Piers Morgan agreed adding women should ‘take the compliment’, but Susanna wasn’t impressed.
Susanna hit back: ‘Have you thought about the women that don’t find it fun?’
Eve then told her: ‘A guy comes near you, that’s not on. Hearing a wolf whistle – for those of you who can still hear – makes you feel great for about five minutes.’
She added: ‘We’re all objectified. You look at people as you see them.’
Susanna attempted to make herself heard over Piers’ taunts – her co-host said that women should appreciate compliments and stop being so aggressive in response.
‘Somebody says you’re looking great and your first reaction is: “How dare you?”‘ he said.
‘Isn’t that an indication of some of the aggression we do receive?’ Susanna hit back.
Susanna attempted to defend her stance on cat-calling but Piers taunted her over receiving compliments and that women should stop being aggressive in response
Piers insisted such behaviour was a compliment that women should appreciate, but Susanna refused to back down
‘Sometimes it’s hard to filter out the positive harmlessness,’ before adding, ‘How can the aggression come from the woman?’
‘Sometimes it is possible that the woman might be overly aggressive in these circumstance,’ Piers countered.
Strictly’s Charlotte Hawkins, who sat in on the debate, shrugged the controversy off and confessed she didn’t mind being cat-called.
Piers also added that his wife Celia Walden ‘loves’ being cat-called by him ‘first thing in the morning’, before poorly attempting his own version of wolf-whistling – which Susanna ridiculed him for.
The debate heated up as the panellists disagreed over the nature and intention of cat-calling – Piers and Eve felt it was harmless, but Harriet and Susanna didn’t agree
Harriet Winter said she would support a ban on cat-calling, saying she didn’t appreciate unwanted compliments
Eve was joined on the panel by journalist Harriet Minter, who said she would support a ban on cat-calling.
Piers asked: ‘Do you really want to stamp out an old-fashioned complimentary bit of banter?’
Harriet replied that the reason it should be stopped was precisely because it is old-fashioned – and said that women don’t feel comfortable or safe receiving unwanted compliments in the middle of the street while going about their daily routines.
But Eve said that as she has become older the compliments were more than welcome.
‘They make you feel better. I am the most ardent feminist and I want women to run everything and succeed, but it didn’t stop me did it.
‘The odd short-sighted bloke coming near me shouting derogatory things is not on, but a wolf-whistle is a very nice feeling.’
Good Morning Britain airs on ITV weekdays from 6am