BALLS UP
What is Fathers 4 Justice, who is Matt O’Connor, what happened on GMB and when did they scale Buckingham Palace?
Fathers 4 Justice campaigner Matt O'Connor undid his trousers during a discussion on Good Morning Britain
FATHERS 4 Justice campaigner Matt O'Connor appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain and made a spectacle of himself.
He undid his trousers and pulled out some pink balls.
3
What is Fathers 4 Justice?
Fathers 4 Justice is a campaign group fighting for the rights of fathers in the UK.
It was founded in 2001 by Matt O’Connor with the aim to gain support for changes in legislation concerning the rights of fathers to see their kids.
The group mainly uses stunts, like climbing public buildings and monuments, often wearing fancy dress or costumes to gain media attention.
In 2008 a new splinter group formed called New Fathers 4 Justice as they disagreed with O’Connor’s leadership.
They claimed the original group had lost sight of its original aims and had descended into making personal attacks on social media.
Who is Matt O’Connor?
Matt O'Connor, from Thanet, Kent, is the founder of Fathers 4 Justice.
O’Connor was previously the marketing consultant behind Viennetta ice cream.
He is the sole shareholder and director of Fathers for Justice Ltd.
3
What happened on GMB?
Matt O’Connor joined GMB presenters Kate Garraway and Ranvir Singh along with child development specialist Ollwyn Moran on the show to debate whether Father’s Day should be scrapped.
The section started off friendly enough but soon descended into mayhem.
Towards the end of the debate, Matt suddenly said: "I've just got to say one important thing here.
"I was treated like an outcast today in this studio, I was put - not in the green room with Ollwyn - but dumped outside.
"And I've got to say one thing, I'm going to show you my balls."
As Kate, Ranvir and Ollwyn looked horrified, the father-of-three stood up and started to undo his belt.
As both presenters held their hands up and cried "No, no, no", Matt then undid his flies and flung two pairs of small pink balls out of his trousers.
He added: "Balls, balls to a fatherless Father's Day."
Speaking after his appearance, Matt said in a statement: "I went on the show to defend fathers, especially dads for whom Father’s Day is the only day in the year that they may get some recognition.
"We’ve had 650 pairs of knitted balls made by grannies across the country who aren’t able to see their grandchildren at any time of year, and whose pain on Father’s Day is even greater when they worry about their sons who have no access.
"So I grabbed the opportunity to take a stand and get my knitted balls out on live TV.”
3
LATEST ON FATHER'S DAY
When did they scale Buckingham Palace?
Activist Jason Hatch scaled the walls of Buckingham Palace dressed as Batman in September 2004.
He was arrested but all charges were later dropped.
In the same month David Chick climbed the London Eye, causing the attraction to temporarily close.
Topics