Ed Balls has come under fire for what some Good Morning Britain viewers deemed "negative" and "stupid" comments during an interview with a mother raising awareness of a brutal condition her daughter lives with.
Thursday's edition of the ITV show saw 13-year-old Jasmine, who suffers with Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa, and her mother Anna join presenters Mr Balls and Susanna Reid to discuss the rare condition, also known as Butterfly Skin.
Jasmine suffers from the sever genetic skin disorder which causes fragile skin and leads to constant blisters and wounds along with agonising pain.
"The condition means that the glue which would hold the layers of skin together is missing and it means that her skin blisters, tears at the most delicate of touches," Ms Reid explained.
Good Morning Britain: Ed Balls and Susanna Reid met 13-year-old Jasmine, who suffers with Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa
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Mr Balls continued: "So, her mum Anna and grandad Robert are preparing to undertake a huge challenge of their own, they will climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain. They will do that late this month."
"How do you feel about mum and grandad climbing the highest mountain in Africa?" Ms Reid asked the teenager, who replied: "Well, I'm proud of them but I will miss them loads."
The ITV host asked: "What would you like people watching to understand about your butterfly skin?"
"How painful it really is," Jasmine responded. Anna detailed: "Every other day, Jasmine has to go through four to five hours of bandage changes, which she is in excruciating pain for from the moment we start.
"She is on morphine. It doesn't touch the sides. We can't manage the pain. Jasmine must have a massive, really high pain threshold.
Good Morning Britain: Viewers fumed over Ed Balls' comments
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"Her body is 80 per cent wounds. You can't see them, but under these clothes Jasmine is bandaged from head-to-toe.
"If we didn't bandage each individual finger, her fingers would fuse together because of the scar tissue. It takes hours."
On the momentous challenge the determined mother is taking on, Ms Reid commented: "Well Anna, somebody who knows what it is like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro is right here next to us."
"That is true," Mr Balls remarked. The presenter climbed the mountain in 2019 for Red Nose Day.
He detailed: "I went all the way to the top. And it took days and days. And I think the advice is, you have to eat as much as you can because you get really hungry and as you get higher and higher, some people get affected by the lack of oxygen.
"You never know if it is going to happen to you. My son said to me, I climbed up with Little Mix, he said if they get to the top, you need to get there, too.
"And I had to redouble my efforts. It was hard in the final hours. It is beautiful up there."
Turning to Jasmine, he added: "There is a mobile phone signal, your mum will be able to give you a call at the top of the mountain, even do a FaceTime, and say 'I'm here!' You will almost be there with her."
Anna admitted: "I'm petrified. It is the unknown of the altitude. I don't know, I have done the odd bit of altitude before. I was OK, I don't know how it will affect me."
"Nobody does," Mr Balls emphasised. "It's not about fitness, it is about your genetic make-up."
Good Morning Britain: Ed Balls warned Anna to 'be prepared'
|ITV
He went on: "I went to a test a few weeks before with Dani Dyer, she passed. The doctor said to me, 'I will send you to A&E now,' and they made me spend three weeks on an oxygen machine before we went."
Ms Reid quickly interjected: "Shall we try not to put you off?" but Mr Balls doubled down, warning Anna: "Be prepared!"
Taking to social media, viewers fumed at the host for his "negative" steering of the conversation.
One penned on X: "Ed is just as self-centred as [Richard] Madeley, they make every single story about themselves, make inappropriate comments and clearly make guests uncomfortable."
"Shut Ed Balls up, this poor girl is suffering enough #GMB," a second wrote.
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"Ed Balls really should stop making negative stupid comments about the climb #GMB," an other pointed out.
Someone else posted: "Oh my God, shut up Ed, the poor woman looks nervous enough, good luck to Anna."
"It's not all about you Ed, you middle class p****, it's about brave, pained Jasmine #GMB," another furious viewer added.
Someone else shared: "What a stupid conversation to have with her mum Ed, it's about her, not you #gmb," while one more pleaded: "#GMB - #ITV please get Ed out of this programme!"