Piers Morgan stands behind Meghan remarks despite losing show
- By Reuters -
- Mar 10, 2021
Piers Morgan, who has just lost his high-profile breakfast TV slot over attacks on Meghan Markle, 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 his long-running criticism of Meghan intensified in the wake of her 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.
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. pic.twitter.com/bv6zpz4Roe
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 10, 2021
He added a photo of Winston Churchill with a quote on the topic of free speech.
In a two-hour interview that plunged the British monarchy into crisis, Meghan said the royal family had rejected her pleas for mental health support and that someone in the household had raised questions about the color of her unborn son’s skin.
The morning after the interview was aired on US 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”.
BREAKING NEWS: Good Morning Britain beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings yesterday for the first time.
My work is done. 😎— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 10, 2021
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 after the programme attracted more than 41,000 complaints to Britain’s media regulator.