"Her father, who manages her career and her 5 coaches are all male" - Piers Morgan lashes out at Emma Raducanu over woman empowerment advert
Emma Raducanu has received significant backlash from British television personality Piers Morgan over her women empowerment campaign for HSBC.
In line with their Financial Health Strategy initiative, HSBC collaborated with renowned British author and illustrator, Emma Dodd, to create 'Fairer Tales' which offers a fresh perspective on traditional fairytales.
These revamped fairytales were the centerpiece of a commercial featuring Raducanu, who signed on as HSBC's global brand ambassador last year. The Brit read out stories featuring Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel, portraying them as businesswomen in an effort to inspire young girls to strive for financial independence.
"So in the end, the princesses didn’t need a prince to save them. They set up their own businesses, saved their money and spent it very wisely," Raducanu said in the advert.
The advertisement faced significant criticism from Piers Morgan, who characterized it as "helplessly woke and absurd." He questioned the message about women not requiring rescue from men, sarcastically highlighting that Emma Raducanu's father, Ian, and the five coaches who played pivotal roles in her career were all male.
"Of course, we all know, the best way to improve the aspirations of women is by trashing men. As Emma said, women don’t need men at all. She certainly didn’t need men to get to where she is today… except from her father, who manages her career and her five coaches who are all male," he said on his talk show.
To illustrate his point further, Morgan pointed out that the Brit's agent, Max Eisenbud and the entire leadership team on HSBC's board of directors were all male as well.
"Then there is her agent Max Eisenbud who is very, very good at maximizing her income… despite the fact he is a man. And then in a final twist of this tale of virtue signalling treachery, it turns out the chairman, chief executive and chief financial officer on HSBC’s board of directors are all men too," he added.
"Emma Raducanu is spending too much time on this commercial stuff and not on the court" - Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan continued to criticize Emma Raducanu, acknowledging her historic triumph at the 2021 US Open as "amazing" before asserting that she hadn't won anything of note since.
"As a man, here are some words of advice for you Emma. I think she’s great and when she won the US Open it was amazing, but she hasn’t won a shoebox since then," he said.
He also claimed that the 20-year-old was prioritizing her endorsement deals to the detriment of her tennis career.
"I think she’s spending too much time on this commercial stuff and not on the court. That’s my view as a man. Take it or leave it," he added.
Emma Raducanu has been out of action since undergoing surgeries to her wrists and ankle in May. She last competed on the tour at the 2023 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she faced a crushing first-round defeat to Jelena Ostapenko.