This Morning came under fire today (March 20) for interviewing “low life” criminal Reed Domingo, who robbed more than £50k from banks.
Reed was sentenced to four years in prison in the US for robbing banks during his lunch break in order to pay for his wife’s IVF treatment.
During the show today, Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield welcomed Reed onto the iconic sofa to talk about his “remarkable” story.
However, many furious fans slammed This Morning for giving the criminal airtime, as they claimed the show was “advertising” Reed’s bank robbery.
This Morning today: Hosts interview Reed Domingo
Holly and Phil talked with Reed Domingo, a British man who stole more than £50k to pay for his wife’s IVF, on This Morning today.
Reed’s wife Patrice underwent nine gruelling rounds of IVF treatment in five years, which cost more than £200,000.
Eventually, Patrice managed to conceive their daughter Angelique.
However, after their daughter’s birth, the family’s debt had continued to spiral out of control.
Shame on you, #ThisMorning, for giving that criminal airtime. And to think you couldn’t keep sinking any lower than you have.
Talking about their debts, Reed told Holly and Phil: “The insurance didn’t cover any of it, so we had to cover all of the costs both the medical procedures and the medication.
“It was supposed to be one time, and that was supposed to be it. Each round costs about $15,000 to do one round of IVF, at least it was in 1992.”
Holly then added: “Then by the end of that, you accumulate the $250,000.”
Desperate, Reed was then forced to take very drastic measures in order to solve their financial issues.
He became a bank robber.
In 2000, British man Reed Domingo decided to steal more than £50,000 in lunch-break bank robberies to pay for his wife’s IVF treatment.
He joins us to share his remarkable story. #ThisMorning pic.twitter.com/1uHQu6uOx7
— This Morning (@thismorning) March 20, 2023
Reed confessed: “It’s absolutely crazy and obviously I thought that I’d never, never find myself in that situation. This was obviously you know two to three years of heavy pressures, financial pressures that I was bearing.
“And I was working for a bank at this time and I went through bank training that told me what you had to do in the event of the bank robbery.
“And it was based on that training one day I just thought, that’s the solution.”
He also added: “I don’t want to sound flippant about it but I basically used to schedule bank robberies during my lunch time.”
This Morning under fire for justifying ‘scumbag criminals’
However, viewers were outraged by his appearance as they claimed that the show has reached a “new low”.
Taking to Twitter, one viewer wrote: “Not remarkable, more downright horrid, poor people in the banks being robbed are now scarred all for the sake of him and his wife, horrid story.”
Another said: “Do Holly and Phil have any say on who comes on the show? If so shame on them. #bankrobber #ThisMorning.”
Someone else wrote: “You can always rely on This Morning to give a platform to and justify scumbag criminals and other lowlifes #ThisMorning.”
A fourth added: “Shame on you, #ThisMorning, for giving that criminal scumbag airtime. And to think you couldn’t keep sinking any lower than you have.”
A fan also said: “#ThisMorning advertising his his podcast!!! Wtaf. A new low, even for #ThisMorning.”
“Did I just witness a bank robbery be justified? I’m so confused. #ThisMorning” a confused fan asked.
Furious, another viewer wrote: “It’s not fascinating at all. It’s absolutely disgusting. He’s a low-life criminal who shouldn’t be given airtime.”
Read more: Holly Willoughby fans stunned by her mum’s ‘youthful’ appearance as they compare them to ‘sisters’
What did you think Reed Domingo’s appearance on the show today? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.