Piers Morgan Quits ITV’s ‘Good Morning Britain’ After Meghan Markle Comments

A day after Piers Morgan criticized Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s interview with Oprah Winfrey and hours after he stormed off Good Morning Britain after being confronted by a colleague for his disparaging comments, the anchor has quit the United Kingdom-based morning program. According to Variety, Morgan quit ITV’s Good Morning Britain, on which he was a presenter. ITV subsequently released a statement in which they confirmed the news and noted that “following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add.”

Morgan’s reported departure from Good Morning Britain comes after British media regulator Ofcom announced that it was launching an investigation into the comments that he made on Monday’s episode of the show. On Twitter, Ofcom revealed that it had received over 40,000 complaints about Morgan’s comments as of Tuesday. Those complaints revolved around Morgan’s dismissal of Markle’s comments about her mental health. During the interview with Winfrey, Markle shared that she had experienced suicidal thoughts after receiving an onslaught of negative press from the British tabloids. She claimed that she went to the Royal “Institution” for help after experiencing these thoughts, but they refused to allow her to seek treatment as they believed that it would be too damaging to the British royal family.

Morgan said on Monday’s episode of Good Morning Britain, in regards to Markle’s statements, “Who did you go to? What did they say to you? I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report.” On Tuesday’s edition of the morning program, Morgan’s colleague, Alex Beresford, addressed this situation and criticized his co-worker for his “diabolical” tirades against Markle. In particular, Beresford criticized Morgan for dismissing and downplaying the couple’s conversation surrounding their mental health.

“I understand you don’t like Meghan Markle. You’ve made it so clear a number of times on this program, a number of times,” Beresford said. “And I understand you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle, or you 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, and yet you continue to trash her.” His comments led Morgan to storm off of the set of Good Morning Britain. Beresford then said that Morgan’s behavior has been “absolutely diabolical” and added, “I’m sorry, but Piers spouts off on a regular basis and we all have to sit there and listen… It’s incredibly hard to watch.” Of course, in light of his comments on Markle and Harry’s mental health, as well as his exit from the set of Good Morning Britain, he has subsequently departed the series for good.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.