Piers Morgan has resigned as presenter of Good Morning Britain, after refusing to offer an apology to the Duchess of Sussex following his criticism of her interview with Oprah Winfrey.
It comes following a recent clash on the show, which he had hosted since 2015. Here, he had a heated debate with fellow presenter Alex Beresford over the issue of the recent Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which has been viewed by 12.4 million people so far.
During the discussion, in which Beresford insinuated that Morgan was racist and accused him of having a personal vendetta against Markle due to a falling-out between the pair years earlier, the latter stormed out of the studio temporarily, clips of which have gone viral online.
Morgan’s criticism of Markle in light of the interview has been widely condemned, leading to an Ofcom investigation following over 41K complaints against him over the matter.
Morgan left the show following discussions with ITV, the show’s network, after he admitted that he “didn’t believe a word” Meghan said during the interview, which led to clashes both on air and within ITV, including with ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall, who supports Markle and added that ITV is “totally committed” to mental health. Others, like the mental health charity Mind, were also “disappointed” with Morgan’s comments.
It has transpired that Morgan had resigned after refusing to apologise for his comments, which had been expected of him by senior executives. After his refusal, he simply walked, and has been positive on social media ever since, posting messages like “#TrustYourGut” on his Twitter account.
ITV have put out a statement on the matter, which read: “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.” There has been no detail as to who would replace him, given that that move would take immediate effect.
Morgan’s resignation received mixed reactions online. Some, such as American comedian Chelsea Handler and commentator Shola Mos-Shogbamimu celebrated, while others like journalists Jake Tapper and Megyn Kelly were critical, citing potential freedom of speech issues.
