James O'Brien calls out 'unhinged hatred' behind misrepresentation of Prince Harry's Taliban kills

11 January 2023, 14:51 | Updated: 11 January 2023, 21:29

James O'Brien shines a light on 'unhinged hatred' of 'misrepresenting' Prince Harry

James O'Brien pointed to the hypocrisy in the media representation of Prince Harry's Taliban kills, after the Duke said the misrepresentation was "dangerous".

In 2013 Prince Harry was lauded for being a hero and was praised in many newspapers for serving his country. His time in the military has resurfaced in the media after the leak and release of his memoir 'Spare'.

James O'Brien reflected on the way Prince Harry has been treated since the book leaked, as many have shamed the Duke for admitting to having killed 25 members of the Taliban - despite the fact having been revealed back in 2013.

READ MORE: Harry's Taliban kill count claim 'wrong and a very serious mistake', ex-defence secretary says amid veterans' fury

He went on to eviscerate journalists for their "unhinged hatred" of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as he argued that "what was actually written in his book" about his kills as a soldier was vastly different from the media coverage.

James stated a few reasons why the tabloids misreported Prince Harry's account in his memoir Spare.

The presenter said that the first reason is that the tabloids "didn't care", with reason number two being that "they didn't know and didn't bother to find out".

The third reason for the tabloid misreporting Prince Harry's Taliban kills is because "they will do anything to hurt him", James said.

READ MORE: Prince Harry autobiography Spare becomes fastest-selling non-fiction book ever

He then summarised the reasons eloquently and took a stab at the people attacking Prince Harry but "rolling out a red carpet" for the disgraced media personality Andrew Tate.

James then questioned how the tabloids could take the same approach to Prince Harry's story as the Taliban.

"If you're toeing the same line as the Taliban, it's probably time to give your head a wobble. That's what unhinged hatred does to you."

While tabloid fodder can be trivial and entertaining the "stakes are always high when you're playing with people's truths", he said.

James added: "When you're actually taking the same line as the Taliban on the misrepresentation of what a British hero said - you're scum, I don't use that word lightly but you are, it's unthinkable."

James circled back to the topic at hand - the tabloid coverage of Prince Harry's wartime killings from 2013 to 2023.

He asked the question: "What's changed?"

James answered his own question and said: "He [Harry] got married, fell in love [and] turned his back upon the machine that feeds these newspapers."

READ MORE: Harry accuses royals of 'getting into bed with the devil' and have 'shown no willingness to reconcile'

Earlier in the week James had read aloud the extract from Harry's book where he detailed the killing to show the difference between what he actually wrote and how it was presented via the media.