In one hell of a rush of events, UK commentator Piers Morgan has quit morning talk show “Good Morning Britain” just minutes after the country’s media regulator Ofcom announced an investigation into his actions on morning TV this week.
A spokeswoman for ITV says: “Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”
All this follows in the wake of the explosive Oprah Winfrey interview of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry which aired on Monday night in the UK.
On Monday morning after the interview had aired in the US and its contents had been reported on in the UK news, Morgan reacted to Markle’s comments that she had felt suicidal and said: “I don’t believe a word she says, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe her if she read me a weather report.”
He was immediately rebuked by co-presenter Susanna Reid who dubbed his comment a “pathetic reaction”. Viewers also complained with the broadcast drawing more than 41,000 complaints – making it easily the most complained about show of the past decade.
Ofcom announced on Tuesday that it is investigating that broadcast to see if the ITV show broke rules on harm and offense. Amid talks with ITV, Morgan walked back his comments on-air earlier today. Later, taken to task by the show’s weather presenter Alex Beresford over his comments, Morgan stormed off set for ten minutes and later returned.
The consequences of the original interview continue to ripple outward as Buckingham Palace has issued a statement on behalf of the Queen commenting on the CBS interview. That statement can be read on Twitter.