Last week, controversial TV host Piers Morgan sensationally walked off the set of Good Morning
Britain, the show he'd been fronting for six years, after a vicious argument with weatherman
Alex Beresford over Meghan Markle. Just a couple days later, broadcaster ITV confirmed
Morgan had been given the option to either apologize for his comments or step down -- and
had chosen the latter. The TV host argued on air that he didn't trust anything Markle
said, doubling down on those comments in a follow-up statement on Twitter.
The Duchess of Sussex gave a tell-all interview, alongside husband Prince Harry, to Oprah Winfrey
during which they revealed Markle had suffered with mental health issues, Harry's father,
Prince Charles, had stopped taking his phone calls, and an unidentified senior member of
the royal family had made a racist comment about the shade of their son's skin tone.
As far as Morgan is concerned, the couple is purposely disparaging the royal family,
including family friend Gayle King, who's provided an insight into their current status.
Morgan took to Twitter to criticize King for acting as a, quote, "PR mouthpiece" for the
Sussexes. The former Good Morning Britain host also accused Winfrey's BFF of facilitating
the "ongoing public trashing of our Royal Family," and encouraging King, who co-hosts
CBS This Morning, to do her "job as a journalist and ask them about all the lies they told."
He concluded by simply stating,
"America should hear THE truth."
King revealed she'd caught up with the Sussexes in the wake of their headline-making interview,
confirming Harry had sadly had an "unproductive" conversation with his brother and father,
while nobody from the royal family had reached out to Markle directly yet. She did advise,
however, that everybody was focused on moving forward as a family.
Morgan has tussled with many celebrities online for their defense, or even support, of the
Sussexes. The TV host has evidently had an issue with Markle ever since she "ghosted"
him, per Morgan's telling, after meeting Harry. His criticism of the Duchess, alongside the
57,000 complaints — and counting — received by ITV for Morgan's on-air comments haven't
hurt his professional chances, though. As Metro advises, he's in the midst of a bidding
war between GB News and Rupert Murdoch's channel News UK TV reportedly worth $10 million.
Upon learning his comments had inspired a record-breaking number of complaints, Morgan
took to Twitter to gloat. He dubiously claimed,
"Only 57,000? I've had more people than that come up & congratulate me in the street for
what I said."
He added,
"The vast majority of Britons are right behind me."
Morgan was heavily criticized for dismissing Markle's claims of feeling suicidal during
her time with the royal family. The Duchess of Sussex admitted to Winfrey the negative
attention from the U.K. press was so intense, she simply, quote, "didn't want to be alive
anymore."
Morgan countered,
"I don't believe a word she says, Meghan Markle. I wouldn't believe her if she read me a weather
report."
...to which his co-host, Susanna Reid, responded,
"That's a pathetic reaction to someone who has expressed those thoughts."
Mental health charity Mind — who supports ITV's Get Britain Talking campaign, which
aims to remove the stigma surrounding getting help for such issues — also posted a statement
to Twitter denouncing Morgan. Mind noted they were, quote, "disappointed and concerned"
by his comments, arguing,
"It's vital that when people reach out for support or share their experiences of ill
mental health that they are treated with dignity, respect, and empathy."
Morgan's departure from Good Morning Britain was a long time coming. Just last month, almost
1,200 media professionals signed an open letter to ITV denouncing the host's behavior as bullying
and intimidation following an online spat with former Piers Morgan's Life Stories colleague
Adeel Amini. The letter read.
"As freelancers working within television, we feel a responsibility to speak out against
bullying and harassment wherever we see it, including from on screen personalities who
are all too often poorly reprimanded for unacceptable behaviour and abusive conduct."
True to form, Morgan tweeted that it was, quote, "beyond parody" and claimed he was
the real victim.
ITV reasoned it couldn't control what Morgan tweeted, as per Deadline. According to the
Daily Star, in spite of the backlash over Morgan's behavior, a considerable amount of
fans took to social media heralding his return to British TV Thursday night. Morgan was interviewing
Coleen Nolan, a presenter and singer with Irish girl group The Nolans, for the latest
edition of Life Stories. One fan described the interview as "spot on," while others enthused,
"Nice to see my mate Piers Morgan on TV miss that Voice on TV."
And another supported tweeted:
"Great to see you back on @ITV Piers #LifeStories."
A stateside supporter even demanded the show be broadcast in the U.S. so that they could
get their Piers Morgan fix.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call or chat online with
the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Or Text HOME to the
Crisis Text Line 741741