Hello again! 

It's been just over seven months to the day that I set up this petition. My intention in doing so was to highlight the glorification of Piers Morgan's antagonistic, bigoted and dangerous discussions around transgender/non-binary people, due to a sharp rise in hate crimes and a lack of action on ITV's part to show any concern (despite a prominent mental health campaign at the time). 

The result was two weeks of great ratings for Good Morning Britain, a supposed extension of Morgan's contract and an even further rise in rampant transphobia, fuelled by the backlash to this petition. There was notably a '100 genders' debate televised in the same week the petition was launched, without me involved. GMB didn't contact me once, and nor did the wealth of newspapers writing about me (with the exception of Gay Times and PinkNews). 

There was also a lot for me to handle personally, which I didn't want to bring to light in fear of it distracting from my original intentions, but that included death/rape threats via Twitter, Facebook, email and even dating apps.

To be absolutely transparent, this petition affected me mentally in ways I still don't understand nor have I recovered from, and to see it emerging again over Twitter and in the tabloids is filling me with dread at the idea I'll have to relive weeks of being targeted - mostly over things I have never expressed, but have instead been misrepresented by a Daily Mail journalist or otherwise.

So, I'm extremely disappointed to see this petition making waves again but in the context of it being a Conservative agenda, and that I established it because of Morgan's handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Let it be known that I am not a Conservative, and I have barely paid attention to his coverage - mostly out of choice, but also because he blocked me on Twitter once he had his fun.

I too think the government's handling of the pandemic has been atrocious, to say the least. I don't support Boris Johnson, or Matt Hancock, or any of the senior figures dragging us carelessly through a flimsy lockdown and a steady number of avoidable deaths.

With that being said, I also don't support Piers Morgan because of his sudden pivot. In my eyes, his criticism of the government comes years too late, and the sudden realisation for many of the media's unavoidable influence would have been welcomed prior to Brexit or the 2019 General Election, for example. 

Morgan is an opportunist. He'll say whatever puts him on the right side of history, whether that's positioning himself as the hero of pandemic coverage or demonising transgender people for some more Twitter followers. I stand behind every word of the original letter I published alongside this petition and I urge you to read or re-read it.

I understand we're in the midst of a deeply scary, difficult and life-altering time, and there are so many more important things to worry about than this petition, but I won't stand for being called a scorned Tory, nor will I let said scorned Tories erase an issue that I believe is still as important and as pressing as it was seven months ago - maybe even more so.

If you want to talk to me about it, you can find me on Twitter at @kennedy_mp3. 

Thanks again, stay safe and stay home!

Liam