Shortly after Larry King’s death was announced on Saturday, Jan. 23, Piers Morgan came under fire on social media for Twitter tribute to the veteran journalist.
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Initially, Morgan simply shared a photo of King and the words, “RIP Larry King, 87. A television legend.” But he followed up that post with a tweet that was slammed as “crass,” “tasteless,” and “disrespectful.”
The tweet referenced bad blood between the two that began after Morgan was given King’s slot on CNN in 2011, turning “Larry King Live,” which King hosted from 1985 until 2010, into “Piers Morgan Live.” It also included a dig at King’s multiple marriages.
“Larry King was a hero of mine until we fell out after I replaced him at CNN & he said my show was ‘like watching your mother-in-law go over a cliff in your new Bentley,'” Morgan’s second tweet began. “(He married 8 times so a mother-in-law expert) But he was a brilliant broadcaster & masterful TV interviewer.”
Twitter was so collectively irked by the post, Morgan’s name briefly started trending on the platform, as users criticized him for turning the TV icon’s death into an opportunity for self-promotion and insults.
“Not surprised he fell out with you, look at you trying to grab 5 minutes of fame through past association,” one user wrote in the comments.
“Who does that on the day someone died???” asked another.
Many of Morgan’s media peers were offended, as well.
BET host Marc Lamont told Morgan his tweet was “tasteless,” and asked: “Why take personal shots at a time like this? Just say something kind. Or don’t say anything. There’s alway[s] that.”
Writer Dave Grzybowski commented, “what a dumb a– disrespectful tweet.”
Others dragged Morgan for being self-serving and inappropriate. Some of the “Good Morning Britain” co-host’s fans, however, defended him.
“This is honest and you still found a way to keep it respectful. I appreciate it. Hate phony stuff,” one person wrote in the comments.
Morgan agreed with the compliment.
“Me too,” he wrote. “Larry hated me replacing him at CNN and never made any secret of it, which I found very sad because he was one of my heroes – but I still think he was a superb broadcaster & one of the all-time TV greats.”
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“Larry King Live” was CNN’s “most watched program and longest-running program,” according to data collected by Wikipedia.
“Piers Morgan Live,” meanwhile, was canceled due to steadily declining ratings in 2014, just three years after it premiered.
King — who won two Peabody Awards, one Emmy and nearly a dozen Cable ACE Awards over the course of his nearly 50-year long career — died after being hospitalized in Los Angeles for complications due to Covid-19.
He had battled multiple health issues in recent years, including heart attacks, a stroke, diabetes and lung cancer. King was 87.