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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Adam White

Piers Morgan confirms reasons for GMB exit in lengthy statement on ‘cancel culture’

Photograph: Jeff Spicer/Getty

Piers Morgan has confirmed he exited Good Morning Britain after refusing to apologise for “disbelieving Meghan Markle”.

Morgan departed the ITV show after attracting widespread criticism over comments he made about Markle following her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. Morgan argued that he “didn’t believe a word” she said about having suicidal thoughts during her time as a senior royal.

Morgan stormed off the GMB set live on air on Tuesday morning (9 March), before declaring his exit from the show later that day. In a new message published to his Instagram on Friday (12 March), Morgan called the events of this week the latest example of him “standing his ground for the things that [he] thinks matter most”.

Writing to his supporters, while dismissing his “haters”, Morgan referenced his opposition to the Iraq War, which led to the end of his run as editor of the Daily Mirror, and his stance on American gun laws, which brought his US talk show to a close.

“And now I’ve lost my job at Good Morning Britain because I chose not to apologise for disbelieving Meghan Markle’s claims in her interview with Oprah Winfrey,” he wrote. “I thus became the latest ‘victim’ of the cancel culture that is permeating our country, every minute, of every hour, of everyday [sic].”

Read more: Sharon Osbourne criticised for tearful defence of Piers Morgan on The Talk

Confusingly, Morgan added that he did not actually agree with such a claim, writing: “Of course, I consider myself to be neither a victim, nor actually cancelled.”

Morgan then asked his fans and Instagram followers to buy a copy of his latest book, before calling his departure from GMB and his stance on free speech “not simply an act of defiance, but a commitment to our collective futures”.

Morgan has already ruled out a possible return to Good Morning Britain.

Earlier today (12 March), Morgan demanded an apology from the “bullies” who host the US chat show The Talk, following controversy over its co-host Sharon Osbourne’s defence of his treatment of Markle.

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