Meghan Markle filed formal complaint to ITV CEO after Piers Morgan row

Meghan Markle made a big move after controversial TV host Piers Morgan stormed off set during a clash over the royals, it is confirmed.

Meghan Markle filed a complaint against British TV host Piers Morgan after he stormed off the set during a row with the show’s weatherman over the Duchess of Sussex, it has been confirmed.

The divisive TV host chose to walk away from his high profile gig on Good Morning Britain after bosses told him he had to apologise on air for his comments about Meghan.

Morgan once again blasted the Prince Harry and Meghan on the TV show and eventually stormed off the set when his co-host Alex Beresford condemned his repeated attacks on the couple.

After the show, the Duchess of Sussex formally filed a complaint to ITV, the broadcaster’s Royal Editor Chris Ship revealed.

Meghan filed the complaint to the broadcaster’s CEO raising concerns over Morgan’s wording towards mental heath after she said she had suffered suicidal thoughts during her interview with Oprah.

RELATED: For the latest in the royal crisis, follow our live blog

So ... the Duchess of Sussex formally filed a complaint to @ITV on Monday.
It’s thought to have been sent to the broadcaster’s CEO.
Meghan raised concerns about how @piersmorgan’s words affect the issue of mental health and what it might do to others contemplating suicide pic.twitter.com/rA09dOQ4GN

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 10, 2021

Morgan has since broken his silence after sensationally quitting the show, saying he was willing to “fall on his sword” after “agreeing to disagree” with ITV over apologising for the rant.

Questioned as he walked his young daughter, Elise, to school on the first day after his shock exit, he claimed people were trying to cancel him and boldly confirmed he would “re-emerge”.

“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.

“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.”

“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.”

WARNING: This clip contains flash photography.

Former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan says 'I believe in freedom of speech' as he defends comments he made about Meghan. He adds 'the damage she has done to the monarchy is enormous'.

Read more: https://t.co/7KuIYPQaUlpic.twitter.com/jHZ89Ilal4

— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 10, 2021

Posting a quote about freedom of speech from Winston Churchill, Morgan added on Twitter: “On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions.”

On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions. pic.twitter.com/bv6zpz4Roe

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 10, 2021

Ofcom, the UK regulatory authority for the TV industry, received more than 40,000 complaints about Morgan’s comments about Meghan and Harry.

The broadcasting regulator announced it would launch an investigation into the comments under its “harm and offence” rules.

Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain. Picture: ITV

An ITV source told The Sun: “Piers was not going to back down. He was asked to make an apology but refused. He says he is entitled to his opinion and is always going to stand by it.

“When he refused to apologise, there was a stand-off. And ultimately it ended with him telling producers he would not host the show anymore,” the source said.

“His contract was coming to an end this year anyway, but he said he wouldn’t do the job unless it was on his terms.

“The growing pressure from building Ofcom complaints and a swell of anger on social media gave bosses no choice but to try and get him to apologise.

“Unfortunately there were also a lot of concerns raised with the GMB production team too.”

Morgan’s exit from Good Morning Britain was announced by ITV in a statement: “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.”

Thinking of my late, great manager John Ferriter tonight. He’d have told me to do exactly the same thing. @GMB#TrustYourGutpic.twitter.com/QxPngw9Rgu

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 9, 2021

THE ATTACKS THAT BROUGHT PIERS DOWN

Morgan was certainly a prolific Meghan critic – on his high-profile morning TV gig, regularly on social media, and also in his other role as a Daily Mail columnist.

Screenshots circulating on Twitter today show just how many column inches Morgan has filled in recent years with scathing attacks on Meghan and Harry:

The column inches Piers Morgan has dedicated to Meghan Markle over the years.

In case you don’t have a magnifying glass handy, here’s a brief sample of the headlines above:

“Harry and Meghan are grasping, selfish, deluded Royal Hustlers”

“Harry and Meghan should stop behaving like whiny spoiled brats”

“Harry and Meghan are the world’s most tone-deaf, hypocritical, narcissistic, deluded, whiny brats”

“Meghan Markle is a ruthless social climbing actress”

… and on it goes.

As Lisa Wilkinson put it:

This from Piers Morgan.

Years of abuse, right up to and including the day Meghan tells the world that ongoing abuse has made her suicidal.

It’s what happens when a strong woman rejects a powerful man.

For the record, Meghan has never responded to any of it.#MeghanAndHarrypic.twitter.com/BUTve1kMAQ

— Lisa Wilkinson (@Lisa_Wilkinson) March 9, 2021

WHY DOES PIERS MORGAN HATE MEGHAN SO MUCH?

Setting aside accusations that he is simply racist and a misogynist, the pair do have history. They began talking in September 2015 when Morgan followed the actor on Twitter and she sent him a direct message that read: “Well hello there – thanks for the follow. Big fan of yours!”

The pair apparently exchanged messages and emails over the next year-and-a-half and had “amusing” debates about Suits storylines before meeting at Morgan’s local pub in Kensington, west London, in June 2016, The Mirror reports.

Morgan described Meghan as an “old mate” on GMB in 2017, adding: “We had 90 minutes in my local pub over a dirty martini and a pint of hand pumped Harvey’s.

“Trust me I’ll be milking that 90 minutes if she becomes our princess for the rest of my days.”

He said they were “great buddies” and revealed he was pushing for Prince Harry to propose to her.

“My take on her was she’s very beautiful, she’s very intelligent, she’s 35, she’s been divorced, her dad’s white her mum’s black and she had some problems with that growing up,” he said at the time.

“I was really impressed I thought she was a very nice woman, very suited to Harry and different, bi-racial, an actress.”

RELATED: Piers Morgan quits ITV – how it played out

However, Morgan also claims that after their meet-up, Meghan went to a private members club to see Prince Harry and then “went cold”, with the pair never speaking again.

“She met Prince Harry at the dinner that night, went on a solo date with him the next night, and I never heard from her again. Not a word. I’d been ghosted,” he said.

When Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in November 2017, Morgan playfully tweeted: “Hearty congratulations, Harry, you picked a real keeper (even if your romance did destroy my beautiful friendship with the amazing Meghan Markle).”

But for some reason, Morgan turned on Meghan in 2018. He criticised the actress for not rushing to the US to see her dad when he was undergoing heart surgery.

“If my father was having heart surgery 8000 miles away, I probably wouldn’t stay in London working out what songs I want Elton to play at my party …” he said.

Things then went from bad to worse when the couple announced they were stepping back as senior royals, with Morgan calling them “grasping, selfish, scheming Kardashian-wannabes”.

What followed was several years of relentless attack on Harry and Meghan that ultimately cost the broadcaster his job.

Piers Morgan has repeatedly attacked Harry and Meghan on social media.