Good Morning Britain viewers were left divided as the debate of wearing a poppy reared its head on the ITV show on Wednesday morning.
GMB’s poppy debate sparked major backlash with viewers (Image: ITV)
Good Morning Britain fans were left unimpressed by Wednesday’s debate.
As Remembrance Sunday nears, many individuals have been donning their poppies in memory of those who fell during the war.
However, journalist Kevin Maguire chose not to wear one on this week’s show, explaining that he typically wears his the week prior to Remembrance Sunday.
This sparked a varied response from viewers online, leading to Wednesday’s show posing the question of whether it’s acceptable to question someone’s choice not to wear a poppy, reports the Mirror.
One fan said: “They died for your freedom to choose whether or not you want to wear a poppy.”
Another added: “Get Kevin Mcguire off your show. There is no excuse for not wearing a poppy ,it’s simply a flower of rememberance and should be worn with pride.”
But a third chimed in: “Blimey, tuned back into GMB to see if it’s still bonkers…& there’s a guy saying he wears his poppy weeks before & weeks after 11 Nov. He felt the need to say, not on his pyjamas. The debate was about whether people should be called out TO THEIR FACE if not wearing one.”
A fourth penned: “To wear a poppy or not? Remembrance Day is 11th November (with Remembrance Sunday on 10th November, this year) so why be critical of those who are not yet wearing one?”
Kevin’s decision not to wear a poppy sparked a debate on the show (Image: ITV)
A fifth raged: “Not wearing a poppy does not nessecitate that someone is being disrespectful. I don’t wear one, but I make a donation & have massive respect for our veterans.”
But a sixth asked: “How come Kevin Maguire isn’t wearing a Poppy when the remainder of the panel are?”
During the discussion, Kate Garraway and Ed Balls engaged in a conversation with Rusty Firmin, a former SAS soldier, to gather his views on the subject.
When questioned if he would confront someone not wearing a poppy, he responded: “Well, there’s different ways of calling people out isn’t there? There’s an abrupt way going into their face, I think that’s wrong.”
“There’s also ways, that I’ve challenged people in the past, not nastily, but I’m used to working with a lot of veterans who tend to wear it all the time. The fact is, they’ve got respect for what the poppy means.”
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Rusty emphasised that if someone chooses not to wear the poppy, they can’t be compelled, although he pointed out that the symbolism behind what it signifies, is no longer taught.
He informed the pair that there’s been a noticeable decrease in people donning the poppy. The ex-SAS soldier added: “]You can’t make them wear it, but you can advise them that this is the reason why.”
“You ask somebody what the poppy stands for. Nowadays you’ve got a black poppy, a white poppy, a purple poppy. It all started with the red poppy and it’s there for respect of the fallen. You’re sat here today, I’m sat here, these guys are working because of the guys who fought for this country. The blood that they get, is the red poppy.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV from 6am.
