ITV presenter Piers Morgan closed the morning program “Good Morning Britain”.
The UK broadcaster confirmed in a statement on Tuesday evening, local time, that “after discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan decided that now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV accepted this decision and has nothing more to add. “
His shocking departure from the popular morning show he co-hosts with Susanna Reid comes less than an hour after an investigation was launched by British media regulator Ofcom over his comments on Monday’s edition of the show. Morgan said she did not believe Meghan Markle’s comments about her mental illness, which she did during her and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was broadcast in the United States on Sunday night.
Markle said she approached people at the real “institution” for help after having suicidal thoughts, but was refused.
“Who did you go to? What did they say to you? “demanded a belligerent Morgan on Monday morning, when the UK press began to respond to the CBS revelations that emerged during the night.” I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word of what she said, Meghan Markle. I don’t I would believe it if she read me a weather report, ”Morgan continued.
Ofcom launched an investigation on Tuesday after more than 41,000 people wrote complaining about Morgan’s behavior.
Earlier in the day, on Tuesday’s edition of the show, Morgan left the set while “Good Morning Britain” was being broadcast live, after an altercation with meteorologist Alex Beresford, who called Morgan’s behavior “diabolical”. The host then left, saying, “Sorry. You can destroy me, man, but not on my own show. See you later.”
Morgan later returned to the program and said, “When we talked about it yesterday, I said, broadly, I don’t believe what Meghan Markle is saying in general in this interview and I still have serious concerns about the truth of much of what she said. But let me just state my position on mental illness and suicide: these are clearly extremely serious things and should be taken very seriously, and if someone is feeling that way, they should always receive the treatment and help they need. And if they belong to an institution like the Royal Family and seek that help, they should receive it ”.
“It is not up to me to question whether she felt suicidal, I am not on her mind and that is up to her to say,” added Morgan. “My real concern was disbelief, frankly … that she went to a senior member of the royal household and told them that she was suicidal and was told that she could not have any help because it would look bad for the family. If this is true a) that person should be fired and b) the royal family has serious questions that need to be answered. “
ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall said on Tuesday during the broadcaster’s earnings conference call that she believed in Markle “completely” and that the broadcaster also issued a statement.
“ITV is committed to mental health and well-being and working with our charity partners on ‘Britain Get Talking’, which aims to encourage people to talk about their mental health,” says the statement. “It is very important that, if someone has thoughts of suicide, always speak and be heard.”
More to come.