British television personality and former “America’s Got Talent” judge Piers Morgan left his role Tuesday as a presenter for “Good Morning Britain” in the United Kingdom amid backlash over comments he made Monday about Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
In a statement, officials with ITV said that following discussions, “Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain.”
“ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add,” the statement said.
>> Related: Buckingham Palace: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry interview raised ‘concerning’ issues
Officials with the U.K.’s media watchdog, Ofcom, earlier announced an investigation into the Monday episode of “Good Morning Britain” after receiving more than 41,000 complaints.
We have launched an investigation into Monday’s episode of Good Morning Britain under our harm and offence rules.
— Ofcom (@Ofcom) March 9, 2021
As of 14:00 on Tuesday 9 March, we have received 41,015 complaints about the programme.
On Monday, Morgan repeatedly criticized Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, for their decision to sit for an interview with Oprah Winfrey, at one point accusing them of “spray-gunning his family.”
“I’m sickened by what I’ve just sat to watch,” Morgan said. “This is a two-hour trash-a-thon of our royal family, of the monarchy, of everything the Queen has worked so hard for.”
‘I’m sickened by what I’ve had to watch.’
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 8, 2021
‘It’s a 2 hour trash-athon of everything the Queen has worked so hard for, while her husband is in hospital.'@piersmorgan starts the show with his reaction to the Harry and Meghan interview.
Tune in tonight @itv at 9pm. pic.twitter.com/AIXKvXtIoq
Morgan also said he didn’t believe allegations of racism made by Meghan and Harry, or Meghan’s admission that she sought mental health treatment from the palace -- and was denied -- after unrelenting media scrutiny led her to contemplate suicide.
“I don’t believe a word she says, Meghan Markle,” Morgan said Monday. “I wouldn’t believe her if she read me a weather report.”
During the two-hour interview, which aired in the U.S. on Sunday and in the U.K. on Monday, Meghan and Harry spoke about their experiences with racism in the royal family, feeling “trapped” in their roles and their rejected attempts to reach out for help after Meghan began having suicidal thoughts.
>> Related: Pregnant Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and son Archie shown in new family photo
“I just didn’t want to be alive anymore,” Meghan told Winfrey. “And that was very clear, and real, and frightening.”
Meghan, formerly known as Meghan Markle, and Harry wed in May 2018 at Windsor Castle. They have since moved to Montecito, a seaside community in California’s Santa Barbara County, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Cox Media Group
