Alison Hammond has been praised for her perfect response to Sir Cliff Richard admitting he turned down a picture with Elvis Presley because the Jailhouse Rock singer looked a little ‘heavier’.
This Morning host Alison, 48, joined Dermot O’Leary and Sarah Ferguson for a special edition of the ITV programme, which saw Sir Cliff appear on the sofa as a guest.
During the interview, the Mistletoe and Wine singer was accused of ‘fat-shaming’ by viewers, as he explained his regret over not meeting Elvis.
He said: ‘I had one chance, through a journalist when I was promoting Devil Woman in the States.
‘He said, “Oh I know Elvis,” because he knew that I was influenced, and he said, “Do you want to meet him?” and I said, “Yeah.”
‘At the end of the interview though, I said, “Can we put it off?” because he’d put on a lot of weight, and I thought, if I’m having a photograph taken with him and it’s going to be hanging on my refrigerator, it’s got to look good.’
Alison let out a chuckle, while Sir Cliff continued: ‘And I put it off, and of course, then he died.’
‘You should never have put it off, just because they’re a little bit heavier,’ Alison quipped.
And she wasn’t done serving the sass.
Sir Cliff went on: ‘If you’re a fan of somebody’s, if you get the chance to meet them, meet them, even if they’ve put on weight!’
Before they moved onto the next segment, Alison quickly chimed in with: ‘Is that why you don’t want me over at your house?’
The Bake Off host was showered in praise for how she dealt with the situation, with one person saying: ‘I have no words this is horrible! Alison as you said handled this well, I never liked Cliff Richard either x.’
‘Cliff fat shaming, well done Alison. Disgusting,’ another said.
Someone else applauded: ‘I hardly ever watch #ThisMorning but happened to catch Alison’s reaction to Cliff fatshaming Elvis! You go girl!’
Someone else seethed: ‘How rude was Cliff Richard today and what he said. Good on Alison for saying that back to him. How dare he say something like that about weight.’
Alison has previously hit back at fat-shamers, and defiantly insisted she won’t ‘hide away’ because of trolls.
Speaking about seemingly representing larger women to Fabulous magazine in 2021, she said: ‘In my head I’m slim. There is a slim woman in here with a lot of fat around her. I don’t realise how big I am until I’m next to someone. But I’m beautiful and a lovely person, and I know it. I’m not one of those people that hates myself. I actually love myself.
‘People get really angry, but what do they expect us to do? Go and hide under a rock until we get to the size they want us to be? I know people who do.
‘They won’t go swimming because of how they look. How sad is that? You could get hit by a bus tomorrow. I’m not going to stop my life. I love the fact that we’re all so diverse and different.’
She went on: ‘If people see me on TV and it’s upsetting them that much, then I think it says more about them than me. I just think: “What’s wrong with you that I offend you so much?”
‘Obviously, I’d love to be a little bit smaller because it helps with my knees and my ankles, but I’m not going to stop enjoying myself or wearing sexy clothes or having sex with men.
‘That’s what I do. I’m a young woman. I’ve got low cholesterol, good blood pressure. I walk. I go to the gym. I just love my food.’
Yet another reason why we love her!
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1.
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