Labels

Wednesday, 10 March 2021

Morgan quit 'Good Morning Britain' after his bosses told him to apologize on air for his Meghan Markle comments, reports say


"I understand that you've got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle, or had one and she cut you off. She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don't think she has, but yet you continue to trash her," Beresford had said, before Morgan stormed off. 

As Morgan's coverage of Markle went viral this week, a 2018 clip resurfaced in which he described being "ghosted" by her after she started dating Prince Harry.

Morgan doubled down on his comments about Markle in a Wednesday morning tweet

"On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I've had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don't. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I'm happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I'm off to spend more time with my opinions," Morgan said. 

Our Royal Insider Facebook group is the best place for up-to-date news and announcements about the British royal family, direct from Insider's royal reporters. Join here.

Piers Morgan quit the "Good Morning Britain" TV show after refusing demands from his network bosses to apologize for remarks he had made about Meghan Markle's mental health, multiple reports say.

While discussing on Monday Markle's revelation in her Oprah interview that she had suicidal thoughts but was denied help from senior members of the royal institution, Morgan said: "Who did you go to? What did they say to you? I'm sorry, I don't believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn't believe it if she read me a weather report."

The British broadcasting regulator Ofcom said it had received 41,000 complaints about that episode of "Good Morning Britain," and has launched an investigation. The Guardian reported that a formal complaint was also sent to ITV on Markle's behalf.

As criticism mounted, network bosses at ITV — the British TV channel that hosts "Good Morning Britain" — asked Morgan to apologize for his comments live on air, but he refused and decided to leave the show instead, according to reports from The Telegraph, The Mirror, and The Sun. 

ITV declined to comment on the reports when reached by Insider on Wednesday.

"Piers was not going to back down," an ITV source told The Sun. "He was asked to make an apology but refused. He says he is entitled to his opinion and is always going to stand by it."

"When he refused to apologize, there was a stand-off. And ultimately it ended with him telling producers he would not host the show anymore," The Sun source added. "His contract was coming to an end this year anyway, but he said he wouldn't do the job unless it was on his terms."

The Sun's source and a "Good Morning Britain" source who spoke to The Telegraph said that there were complaints about Morgan's comments from the staff.

"Staff were very upset after Monday's show and I don't think senior management could ignore that," The Telegraph's source said. 

ITV was reportedly also worried about how Morgan's comments would impact their charity work with the mental-health charity Mind. 

"Charity Mind also expressed their concerns to senior execs at ITV saying it clashes with their campaign," The Sun's source said.

Piers Morgan
Morgan walking off "Good Morning Britain" on March 9, 2021. 
GMB

On Tuesday, Morgan had also walked off the "Good Morning Britain" set after a biracial cohost, Alex Beresford, suggested Morgan had an axe to grind with Markle for ending their friendship. 

No comments:

Skateboarding at 2024 Paris Olympics: How it works, Team USA stars, what else to know

                                 Skateboarding Olympics When did skateboarding become an Olympic sport? Skateboarding made its Olympic debu...