Meghan Markle files complaint on Piers Morgan’s comments
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Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is interviewed by US television host Oprah Winfrey. Photo: Harpo Productions via TNS
Meghan Markle has filed a complaint to broadcaster ITV after former Good Morning Britain anchor Piers Morgan made disparaging comments about the Duchess of Sussex and her mental health.
According to CNN, Markle contacted ITV out of concern that Morgan’s remarks about her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey would have a harmful affect on others.
This week, Morgan made a number of hateful remarks about the duchess and accused her of lying about experiencing suicidal thoughts after marrying into the royal family.
Per The Guardian, Morgan was urged by ITV to apologise for his statements, which he addressed on Tuesday on Good Morning Britain.
After his co-hosts held him accountable for his treatment of Meghan, Morgan abruptly quit the show Tuesday amid an investigation prompted by more than 41,000 complaints about his behaviour.
The television host’s departure was followed on Wednesday by the resignation of the head of a group which represents editors in the British media, who had issued a statement that “UK media is not bigoted” in response to the royal couple’s account of their treatment by the press.
Morgan told The Guardian: “When we talked about this yesterday, I said as an all-encompassing thing I don’t believe what Meghan Markle is saying generally in this interview, and I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what she said.”
“But let me just state on the record my position about mental illness and on suicide,” he added.
“These are clearly extremely serious things that should be taken extremely seriously, and if someone is feeling that way they should get the treatment and help they need every time.”
Piers Morgan | Image Credit: Telegraph
On Wednesday, Morgan spoke out after exiting Good Morning Britain in the wake of Meghan and Prince Harry’s buzzy interview with Winfrey.
The British television host parted ways with ITV Tuesday after his commentary on the duchess prompted sharp criticism from the public and his own co-host.
Speaking to reporters, Morgan called his exit from the show a “temporary hibernation” and doubled down on his views of Meghan.
“I believe in freedom of speech. I believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. If people want to believe Meghan Markle, that’s entirely their right,” Morgan said. “If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and … that interview, so be it.”
“It was all very amicable,” Morgan said of his split with the network. “I had a good chat with ITV, and we agreed to disagree.”
“But of course, my opinions remain my opinions,” he added. “[The public] can’t silence that … I’ve got lots of other jobs. If you’re worried about me going hungry, you don’t need to worry.”
British communications regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into Good Morning Britain’s coverage this week of the Winfrey interview, which aired Sunday in the United States and drew more than 17 million viewers.
On Tuesday, Morgan stormed off the set of the morning programme after his co-anchor, Alex Beresford, called him out for having a vendetta against the duchess.
“I wish I had the privilege to sit on the fence,” Beresford tweeted after standing up to Morgan. “In order for me to do that I would have to strip myself of my identity and that’s not something I can do. It’s not any of our places to pick apart claims of racism in order to make us to feel more comfortable.”
Morgan is, of course, among many who have weighed in on the Sussexes’ sit-down with Winfrey, during which the couple accused people in the palace of raising “concerns” over how dark their first child’s skin might be.
Meghan also said that the crown refused to support her as her mental health suffered, despite her pleas for help.
“I just didn’t want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought,” Meghan told Winfrey.
“I went to the institution, and I said I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that I never felt this way before and I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
On Wednesday, Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors, resigned because of row over his statement on the interview, in which he said the “UK media is not bigoted and will not be swayed from its vital role holding the rich and powerful to account”.
His comments, published on Monday, drew backlash from the industry, with dozens of black, Asian, mixed race and ethnic minority journalists and editors from The Guardian, the Financial Times and HuffPost signing a letter addressed to Murray outlining their objections to the statement.
The society’s board clarified the statement on Wednesday, stating that the original message from Murray “did not reflect what we all know: that there is a lot of work to be done in the media to improve diversity and inclusion”.
In a statement on Wednesday evening confirming his resignation, Murray said: “While I do not agree that the society’s statement was in any way intended to defend racism, I accept it could have been much clearer in its condemnation of bigotry and has clearly caused upset.”
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