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Dumped British TV host Morgan pours more scorn on Meghan suicide, racism claims


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Dumped British TV host Morgan pours more scorn on Meghan suicide, racism claims
By Estelle Shirbon

2021-03-10T132723Z_2_LYNXMPEH290H1_RTROPTP_4_BRITAIN-ROYALS-MEGHAN-PIERSMORGAN.JPG
Journalist and television presenter Piers Morgan looks on as he takes his daughter Elise to school, after he left his high-profile breakfast slot with the broadcaster ITV, following his long-running criticism of Prince Harry's wife Meghan, in London, Britain, March 10, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville

LONDON (Reuters) - Piers Morgan, the pugnacious British TV presenter who lost his job over his attacks on Prince Harry's wife Meghan, said on Wednesday he still did not believe what she had said during her Oprah Winfrey interview.

Morgan, 55, left ITV's Good Morning Britain on Tuesday after a backlash against his comments on Meghan's interview with Winfrey, in which she revealed she had felt suicidal while living as a royal in Britain.

"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," Morgan said in a characteristically combative Tweet on Wednesday morning.

"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," he told his 7.8 million Twitter followers.

He added a photo of Winston Churchill with a quote on free speech.

In an interview that has embarrassed Britain's tradition-bound monarchy, Meghan, who married Prince Harry in 2018, said the royal family had rejected her pleas for mental health support.

The American actress, who is mixed race, also said that someone in the royal household had raised questions about the colour of her unborn son's skin.

The morning after the interview was aired on U.S. television, Morgan said on Good Morning Britain, among a torrent of other criticisms, that he did not believe a word Meghan had said. In a Tweet, he called her "Princess Pinocchio".

The following morning, he stormed off the set of the live programme when challenged by a co-presenter about his stance. Later that day, ITV said he was leaving.

Monday's programme attracted more than 41,000 complaints to Britain's media regulator, the second highest in its history, which announced an investigation.

Morgan first made his name in the cut-throat world of the British tabloid press, culminating in stints editing the now-defunct News of the World, then the Daily Mirror.

He later went into television, appearing as a judge on the reality shows America's Got Talent and Britain's Got Talent. For three years he hosted a chat show on CNN.

Morgan's detractors said his attitude towards Meghan seemed to be partly driven by personal animus because, by his own account, he had got on "brilliantly" with her when he had first met her but she had later dropped contact with him.

Susanna Reid, who co-presented Good Morning Britain with Morgan and frequently disagreed with him on air, described him on Wednesday's programme as "outspoken, challenging, opinionated, disruptive".

Morgan told reporters on Tuesday he thought Meghan's interview had damaged the monarchy and Queen Elizabeth at a time when her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip was in hospital, which he said was "contemptible".

"If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it," he said.

(Additional reporting by Gerry Mey; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Angus MacSwan)

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-11
 
  • Like 2
Posted
1 hour ago, steve187 said:

good never liked the guy, he was so opinionated  

 

and that makes 2 of us  555 ...., Morgan's attitude sucks his show sucked and he's a Trump lover,  not a big loss or not a loss at all

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Posted
4 hours ago, Neeranam said:

So much for unbiased reporting Reuters. This is very anti-Morgon. "Dumped", he walked out didn't he?

No. He walked off the set. Then had a meeting with his boss after there were 40,000 complaints and then was gone.

  • Thanks 1
Posted

He has always been the lowest common denominator. He was awful as the replacement for Larry King at CNN where he constantly had Donald Trump in as a guest. DT was someone that always could be counted on as needing attention when other guests weren't available

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Posted
1 hour ago, stevenl said:

He is really showing his tabloid/rag origin here.

They all 'start' somewhere, unless you're born into it. (Anderson Cooper and Chris Wallace comes to mind)

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Posted
8 minutes ago, kamahele said:

No. He walked off the set. Then had a meeting with his boss after there were 40,000 complaints and then was gone.

40k complaints is hardly a drop in the bucket. You're entitled to your opinion though.

  • Like 1
Posted

If I paid for a TV licence here I would want my money back now wall to wall all of this cartel except 1 needs to get in the news 24/7 covid what covid ????

  • Confused 2

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