Piers Morgan's comments about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on Good Morning Britain, which ultimately led to his exit from the program, have attracted a record number of complaints to the UK's television regulator.
The two episodes, broadcast on March 8 and 9, prompted more than 57,000 complaints in just one week, according to Ofcom — some 12,000 more than the previous record.
The pushback relates to the program's coverage of Oprah Winfrey's long-awaited interview with Meghan and her husband Prince Harry.
Discussing her treatment by the royal family and by the media, the duchess told Winfrey that at times she "didn't want to be alive anymore", and said she would have taken her own life if she had not been able to talk to her husband about it.
Morgan said he "didn't believe a word" she said, prompting widespread backlash.
He walked off the set of Good Morning Britain the next day, saying he and the network, ITV, had "agreed to disagree".
Ofcom's investigation into the program remains "ongoing".
The audience data reveals that between March 8 and March 15, a total of 57,121 complaints were lodged about the segments on Good Morning Britain.
The Duchess of Sussex was among those to lodge a formal complaint, ITV's royal editor confirmed.
AP: Harpo Productions
)"Only 57,000? I’ve had more people than that come up & congratulate me in the street for what I said," a defiant Morgan tweeted in response.
"The vast majority of Britons are right behind me."
In contrast, the royal interview itself garnered just 4,398 complaints, relating to claims made by the duke and duchess, among other issues.
It replaces the previous record for audience complaints set during an episode of Celebrity Big Brother in 2007, in which Indian actress Shilpa Shetty was told by fellow housemates to "go back to the slums" and to "f*** off back home".
