Piers Morgan has been accused of bullying in a letter signed by nearly 1,200 people working in the TV industry.
The letter comes after theGood Morning Britain presenter targeted a former colleague of his, Adeel Amini, on Twitter.
In a tweet posted on 18 February, Morgan wrote that he would “rather employ a lobotomised Aardvark” than work with Amini again. “You spent precisely two months working on Life Stories in 2010 & judging by your CV that was the pinnacle of your TV career,” he said.
Morgan’s post followed one by Amini, in which he said he would not work with Morgan again after his experience on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories as a researcher.
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Now, in a letter to ITV bosses Carolyn McCall and Kevin Lygo, a collective of TV workers said they were “appalled” that Morgan is “directing targeted abuse” towards a freelancer.
“As freelancers working within television, we feel a responsibility to speak out against bullying and harassment wherever we see it, including from on screen personalities who are all too often poorly reprimanded for unacceptable behaviour and abusive conduct,” the letter said.
The 1,188 signatories, who were not named, include TV freelancers, commissioners, executive producers, CEOs, and heads of department.
Morgan tweeted that the letter is “beyond parody” and claimed that he is, in fact, the victim.
The Independent has contacted Morgan for comment.
Read the full letter here.
In response to the letter, ITV said it “takes any allegations of bullying and harassment in the workplace very seriously indeed, and we are clear there is absolutely no place for it in ITV”.
The response, signed by Kevin Lygo and Carolyn McCall, continued: “Our firm understanding is that in this instance, the tweet in question was not accusing Piers of bullying and harassment whilst working on Life Stories. Having spoken to both parties, there is therefore no internal investigation.
“In terms of the separate issue of social media exchanges, we understand some producers wish to express their views on their personal platforms, and we also think it is widely understood that Piers is a prolific and long-standing user of social media where he is well known for engaging in robust, heated exchanges, when criticism is levelled against him.”
They added: “However, Twitter accounts and the decision to comment on each other are their personal choices. Piers is a freelance presenter and we do not control his output on social media, or the other media platforms he writes for.
“To reiterate, we are clear there is no room for bullying at ITV and it is not tolerated.”
