Morgan should be fired from ITV. Really, he should have been thrown away from his co-presenter Good morning Britain long ago. But events this week feel like the last straw. His frequent attacks on Meghan Markle – a woman he barely knows but apparently has an obsession with – became less and less before Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah. Now he has accused Markle of lying about her experience that she had suicidal thoughts while pregnant with her son, Archie, because she was overwhelmed by the press’ intrusion into her personal life.
“I do not believe a word she says,” Morgan said in response to Markle’s comments. “I would not believe her if she read me a weather report.” He then condemned her for unleashing an “onslaught” of criticism of the royal family.
To dismiss someone’s struggle with mental health is appalling, but to do so on national television – towards a woman who has seen the world under an unprecedented level of investigation, poisoning and racism – is completely dangerous. After Morgan’s claim that he did not believe Markle, a viral tweet reads: “Meghan is not going to see you tweet. You do not believe that she was suicidal, but your friends who committed suicide. ” Almost a year to the day since the suicide of Love Island host Caroline Flack, it is indefensible that ITV – which runs a Get Britain Talking campaign on mental health – is reacting so slowly.
Today (Tuesday, March 9), ITV CEO Carolyn McCall was asked about Morgan’s behavior during a media call for ITV’s 2020 earnings. She revealed that Kevin Lygo, ITV’s managing director of media and entertainment, ‘is busy with this while we talk’, but declined to comment further on whether Morgan would be punished or supported for his outbursts. “The most important thing with mental health that ITV does and that it dedicates itself to is that we support, that we make people talk, we listen, we say everyone should listen and everyone should believe, because that’s how you get people talking,” he said. she said. “So we are very committed to that.”
In this morning’s episode of GMB“Morgan did not apologize, but rather said, ‘I’m still seriously concerned about the truth of much of what she said. But let me just state my point regarding mental illness and suicide for the record.
“Mental illness and suicide, it is clear that these are very serious things and that they must be taken extremely seriously, and if someone feels that way, they must get the treatment and help they need every time. If they belong to an institution like the royal family and seek their help, they absolutely must get it. It’s not for me to ask if she felt suicidal, I was not in her mind, and it is for her to say. ‘
He then doubled his previous criticism of Markle, saying: ‘My real concern was honestly unbelief and I am prepared to be proven wrong about this and if I am wrong, it is a scandal that she is going to a senior member of the royal household, told them she was suicidal, and was told she could have no help because it would be a bad look for the family. ”
(DAD)
The journalist is not supposed to be the headline. But Morgan has always found a celebrity of his own, even though he spent a lot of time attacking pop culture. In an interview with this very publication more than 20 years ago, Morgan was praised as a master of self-publicity. “I have become the friend of the stars, an unbridled ego, who is constantly portrayed with celebrities – Madonna, Stallone, Bowie, Paul McCartney, hundreds of them,” he boasted of his early career in showbiz reporting. .
That ego – coupled with the kind of deceived self-confidence that comes with being a privately trained, rich, straight white man – helped Morgan move through the ranks to one of the biggest places on TV. From there, he was given free rein to attack, insult and slander his guests, and rarely gave them the opportunity to speak. Because it’s not really Good morning Britain, is it? It is The Piers Morgan Show.
During the pandemic, Morgan went to great lengths to reinvent himself as a ‘man of the people’, one who proclaims hypocrisy and self-tempting behavior at a time when we ‘must be all together’. He told Laurence Fox to ‘keep quiet’ after the actor and the mayoral candidate now boasted of having a ‘large group’ of friends have lunch, in an apparent breach of the closing rules. He calls Rita Ora ‘selfish’ because she was having a birthday party for her and her famous friends when she was supposed to isolate her after a trip to Egypt. As for his campaign against Markle, however, he can not help but let the mask slip. And boy, is that ugly downstairs.
Five years ago, he had a drink with Markle the night before she met Harry. Apparently, she has decided that she no longer wants to associate with Morgan (I can not imagine why she does not want to be best friends with a notorious, advertising-hungry journalist). Morgan’s response to this rejection was to address and attack in public for the next five years. It is amazing that he is allowed to spray such toxic bile over her from such a large and authoritative platform, given his clear personal prejudice. How does it not involve public harassment?
Most women have encountered a man like Piers Morgan. Maybe you had a first date and no connection. But when you politely did not want to meet again, he became angry. “You don’t seem to feel that way when you buy drinks for yourself.” “You led me further.” ‘Bitch.’ It is difficult to put into words the panic that women experience when they have to try to reject a man’s progress. Sometimes the fear is so great that you will go home with your keys between your knuckles for the next few weeks, in case it arrives at your house. You’re considering the possibility of them embarrassing you on social media, or contacting your friends to tell them what a horrible person you are. The latter happened to a good friend just last month. This right, that men somehow owe the continued attention of women because they were nice to them, is what viewers watch on national television every morning from 06:30 to 07:00.
Piers Morgan steps out of GMB after criticism of Alex Beresford
BBC Radio 1 presenter Clara Amfo pointed out that it should be ‘nice’ for Morgan to be able to storm out of a live TV broadcast because his mixed race colleague Alex Beresford treated him in a measured and intellectual way call out. his attacks on Markle. All the while he knew his job would still be there when he decided to come back.
What does Morgan actually offer viewers? He does not inform it. He does not tune in. He does not encourage intelligent discussions. He’s only there for the best entertainment – a screaming, mocking man who has absolutely no interest in anyone but himself. Maybe he was really annoyed because he was called out by Beresford. But he is also well aware that such tricks get ratings. And while there is truth in us – the public and the media – that is guilty of the attention he desires, it does not give the people who pay him the freedom to do so.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, you can get confidential support and advice Samaritans, 24-7, by calling 116 123 or sending an email to [email protected].