Piers Morgan has broken his hours-long silence after sensationally quitting Good Morning Britain on Tuesday — and the upshot is this: He’s not backing down.
In a Tweet on Wednesday morning UK time, Morgan said: “On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions.”
He tweeted an image of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, alongside the quote: “Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.”
Related Story
Piers Morgan’s Final ‘Good Morning Britain’ Watched By A Significant 1.3M Viewers
On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions. pic.twitter.com/bv6zpz4Roe
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 10, 2021
Per Press Gazette, Morgan told reporters at his home: “I had a good chat with ITV and we agreed to disagree. I’m just going to take it easy and see how we go… If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly-held opinion about Meghan Markle and [her] diatribe of bilge… so be it.”
WARNING: This clip contains flash photography.
Former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan says ‘I believe in freedom of speech’ as he defends comments he made about Meghan. He adds ‘the damage she has done to the monarchy is enormous’.
Read more: https://t.co/7KuIYPQaUl pic.twitter.com/jHZ89Ilal4
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 10, 2021
It’s not clear from his post whether he stands by the totality of his comments about Meghan Markle. Morgan said Monday he did not believe the Duchess of Sussex when she told Oprah Winfrey that she felt suicidal during her time at Kensington Palace. On Tuesday, he clarified his view, explaining: “It’s not for me to question if she felt suicidal, I am not in her mind and that is for her to say.”
The Sun reported that ITV bosses wanted Morgan to say sorry on-air, but he refused and quit Good Morning Britain. His co-host of more than five years, Susanna Reid, opened the show on Wednesday and addressed Morgan’s departure right at the top, saying: “It is certainly going to be very different, but shows go on and so on we go.” She did not apologize on behalf of Morgan.
There is speculation in the UK press that Morgan will not be short of job offers. Discovery-backed news channel GB News is said to be an admirer of the former CNN anchor and has shown that it is prepared to splash the cash for talent ahead of its launch later this year, hiring names including former BBC presenter Andrew Neil. Rupert Murdoch is also planning to launch a UK news channel, named News UK TV, and Morgan would be a statement signing.