Piers Morgan leaving ‘Good Morning Britain’ after storming off set over Meghan Markle claims
Posted March 9, 2021 2:56 pm.
Last Updated March 9, 2021 3:28 pm.
Piers Morgan, who received immense backlash over comments about Harry and Meghan, will depart his current role on “Good Morning Britain,” ITV announced Tuesday.
“Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave ‘Good Morning Britain,” they said in a statement.
“ITV has accepted the decision and has nothing further to add.”
Morgan’s abrupt departure comes after over 41,000 people wrote into the UK media regulator to complain over his remarks about Meghan Markle on Monday.
Morgan said that he did not believe Markle’s statements on mental health after she revealed during the interview with Oprah Winfrey that she had suicidal thoughts stemming from her time spent with the royal family.
“I don’t believe a word she says,” Morgan said on Monday’s version of the broadcast. “I wouldn’t believe her if she read me a weather report.”
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That drew criticism from many, including the mental health charity “Mind.”
One day later, Morgan walked off the “Good Morning Britain” set after co-host Alex Beresford defended the married couple and denounced Piers’ treatment of them both.
“I wish I had the privilege to sit on the fence. In order for me to do that, I would have to strip myself of my identity and that’s not something I can do,” Beresford tweeted Tuesday.
“It’s not any of our places to pick apart claims of racism in order to make us to feel more comfortable.”
ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall commented on the incident, saying “I completely believe what she [Markle] said, that the most important thing with mental health that ITV does and is totally committed to.”
“… We support, we get people to speak up, we listen, we say everyone has to listen and everyone has to believe because that’s how you get people to speak up. So we are very committed to that,” McCall said.
— Mind (@MindCharity) March 8, 2021
On Tuesday, her Majesty the Queen and Buckingham Palace issued a statement for the first time since the interview, saying the whole family is “saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.”
Morgan joined “Good Morning Britain” in 2015. He’s also known for being a judge on the talent competition shows “America’s Got Talent” (2006–2011) and “Britain’s Got Talent” (2007–2010).
