It was major news when Piers Morgan walked off of the set of Good Morning Britain yesterday. Shortly after, news broke that Morgan had left the series after getting called out by his co-host Alex Beresford for comments pertaining to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and after a conversation with ITV. Now, we’ve learned a slew of complaints were made in the wake of the Good Morning Britain episode, one from Ms. Markle herself.
Following the notable episode of Good Morning Britain it was reported that a whopping 41,000 complaints were made in the wake of Piers Morgan’s comments on the air. After Piers Morgan’s own “megxit” if you will, the The United Kingdom's Office of Communications said that thousands of complaints came in. In addition, news broke this morning that Meghan Markle had made her own complaint about what happened on the air with ITV.
Reports this week indicated that Meghan Markle allegedly filed her complaint not over what Piers Morgan said himself, which supposedly didn’t bother her. Instead, the story running around is that she filed a complaint with ITV out of "concern" for viewers who were watching whom she felt may also be struggling with mental health. The controversial Piers Morgan had referred to the Oprah Winfrey interview as a “two-hour trash-a-thon” and had expressed unhappiness with Prince Harry after he “let” Meghan Markle “take down his family” on the air.
Piers Morgan has stood by what he said on the showing, noting once that “freedom of speech” is “a hill” he’s “happy to die on.” Per the Daily Mail, who also learned of the complaint news, he also spoke to reporters outside of his home in West London, noting,
If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.
He also confirmed that he had chatted with ITV after the on-air incident and ultimately the two parties “agreed to disagree” over what happened and Piers Morgan’s ultimate stance on the matter. He did not apologize for his feelings on Meghan Markle’s decision to interview and to focus so hard on the Royal Family, though he did say that if people want to “believe Meghan Markle, that’s entirely their right.”
Meghan Markle spoke with Oprah Winfrey for a Sunday night interview on CBS that aired widely. For her part, Meghan Markle shared many stories and feelings, much of them focused on her treatment by “the Institution.” She also shared stories about Kate Middleton, Harry’s Grandmother Queen Elizabeth, and an unnamed family member who allegedly spoke to her about how dark her son Archie’s skin might be after he was born. A full rundown of the biggest moments from the Oprah interview is also available.
The two were joined in moments by Prince Harry, who seemed surprised he had been cut off by the Royal Family and who mentioned his family members feeling “trapped.” He also revealed after being cut off that he had a legacy from Princess Diana to fall back on while he and Meghan Markle crafted a plan for where to go next.
That plan will include their own production company and a deal with Netflix worth an estimated $25 million. So, after the uncertainty of their exit from Senior Royal duties, it seems like they’ve set themselves on a new path. As for Piers Morgan, his own path moving forward is much more up in the air.
