Piers Morgan's rant about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey has become the most complained about TV ever.
The motormouth broadcaster sensationally quit the ITV breakfast show last week after hosting alongside Susanna Reid for six years.
Piers' departure was announced by ITV the evening after he had clashed with Alex Beresford on-air over controversial comments he had made about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey.
These had included casting doubt on the veracity of a number of claims made during the interview, including Meghan's that she had struggled with suicidal thoughts.
And now it's understood that his rant about the Duchess of Sussex racked up an eye-watering 57,121 Ofcom complaints - making it the most complained about ever.
Last week, Ofcom received 41,015 complaints about Piers' comments which instantly sparked an investigation.
This number dwarfs the near 30,000 complaints made about dance group Diversity's Britain's Got Talent performance, in which they performed a Black Lives Matter-inspired routine.
It also surpassed the 25,000 complaints over a Celebrity Big Brother episode in which Roxanne Pallett had alleged assault by housemate Ryan Thomas.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: "We have launched an investigation into Monday's episode of Good Morning Britain under our harm and offence rules."
After announcing his departure from ITV, Piers said he had "trusted his gut" and that "freedom of speech is a hill [he] is happy to die on".
He added that conversations with ITV had been "amicable", and stood by his fury-sparking remarks.
Speaking outside his London home on Wednesday morning (10 March), Piers said he had not been "cancelled" by the "woke crowd" and will "re-emerge" from "temporary hibernation" following his departure from the ITV morning show.
“I think it’s fair to say, although the woke crowd will think that they’ve cancelled me, I think they will be rather disappointed when I re-emerge," he said. "I would call it a temporary hibernation.”
He added that he is “always in talks with people”.
He described his departure from the programme as “amicable”, adding: “I had a good chat with ITV and we agreed to disagree.
“I’m just going to take it easy and see how we go."
“I believe in freedom of speech, I believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. If people want to believe Meghan Markle, that’s entirely their right," he added.
Piers went on: “I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth and I think the damage she’s done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible.
"If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly-held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.”
If you're struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operates a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email Jo@samaritans.org if you'd prefer to write down how you feel. You are not alone.
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