5 things we learned from Piers Morgan’s US TV interview
Piers Morgan has appeared in his first TV interview since his departure from Good Morning Britain to speak about his controversy relating to Meghan Markle
Appearing on Fox News in the US, Morgan spoke to American conservative TV host Tucker Carlson on his show and left “nothing in the locker” according to one of Morgan’s Tweets.
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Hide AdThese are some of the key things that were revealed during the hour long interview with Tucker Carlson.
He stands by his comments about Meghan Markle
Morgan said that when he watched the Oprah interview that he thought he was witnessing “the most extraordinarily disingenuous smear hit job on the royal family, on the queen, on the monarchy, and, frankly, on Britain”.
He added: “Here we are a month later, Tucker, and frankly, I’ve had plenty of time to think about this, and I’ve had plenty of time to analyse all the analysis of what she was saying and what Prince Harry was saying, and I still don’t believe what they were saying.”
Morgan claimed that the backlash he received following his comments regarding Markle was because he “wasn’t allowed to have an opinion”.
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Hide AdHe said: “I didn’t believe Meghan Markle, a huge furor erupted throughout the day, I was an outrage.
“I wasn’t allowed to have an opinion that I didn’t believe what she was saying even though it was clear to me in real time as I was watching the interview that there were a number of things which just couldn’t be true.”
He believes the royal family would’ve helped if Markle was suicidal
During Markle's interview with Oprah, she revealed that a combination of negative press and a lack of support from the royal family had left her feeling suicidal.
Following the interview, Morgan cast doubts on her revelation, something which garnered a lot of backlash, including from mental health charity Mind.
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Hide AdLater, Morgan said that it wasn’t his place to say whether or not Markle had felt suicidal.
In the Tucker Carlson interview, Morgan said: “It’s not for me to say whether she felt suicidal, that’s only for her to know.
“What I was taking issue with, is she claims she went to two members of the royal household - a senior aide and also human resources.
“And she told both of them she was feeling suicidal, and needed help and both of them rejected that and said she couldn’t get help because it would be bad for the brand of the royal family.
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Hide Ad“I just find it impossible to believe that you would have two people in the palace who would be that callous to a woman telling them she was suicidal.”
He thinks he has the backing of the British public
In the interview, Morgan said that he thinks he has the support of the British people following his exit from Good Morning Britain.
He said: “Old, young, black, white, it didn’t matter. They’ve been coming up to me in their droves all day every day.”
He claimed that people either agreed with his comments about Markle, or at least defended his right to free speech.
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Hide AdAt the time of his Good Morning Britain controversy, his comments about Markle actually broke the record number of complaints made to TV regulator Ofcom.
Some 57,000 complaints were made after Morgan said he “didn’t believe” a word Markle had said.
He called the Alex Beresford confrontation a ‘premeditated attack’
Morgan’s exit from GMB occurred after he stormed off set following a confrontation with GMB weather presenter Alex Beresford.
At the time, Beresford called out Morgan’s “diabolical behaviour”, saying: “I’m sorry, but Piers spouts off on a regular basis and we all have to sit there and listen.
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Hide Ad“Six-thirty to seven o’cock yesterday was incredibly hard to watch. Incredibly hard to watch… He has the ability to come in here and talk from a position where he doesn’t fully understand.”
Morgan stormed off the set after Beresford said: “I understand you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle, or had one and she cut you off.
“She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has, but yet you continue to trash her.”
Speaking to Carlson about Beresford, Morgan said that his former colleague is “the stand in weather guy who does the weather occasionally”.
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Hide AdHe said: “He’s not a journalist. But he’s somebody I’ve helped with his career a number of times when he’s asked me to.”
Morgan accused Beresford of a “premeditated attack… on a personal level”.
He thinks Susanna Reid was too scared to say nice things about him
Morgan also addressed his former Good Morning Britain co-host Susanna Reid’s on-air statement regarding his departure from the show, saying that he “didn’t particularly like it”, but also suggested that Reid was “in the grip of fear”.
Morgan said: “I honestly think she was in the grip of fear. I think she was fearful that if she went too far in saying nice things about me, the same thing might happen to her, that there would be a huge Twitter pile on.”
A version of this article originally appeared on our sister site National World