PIERS MORGAN has issued a short statement following the shock announcement that he had left Good Morning Britain.
Yesterday evening, ITV confirmed in a statement that Piers Morgan had left his role as a presenter with Good Morning Britain, a position he had held since 2015.
"Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain," a spokesperson wrote.
"ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add."
The announcement came after it was revealed that Ofcom received more than 41,000 complaints regarding his comments about Meghan Markle following the groundbreaking Oprah interview she and Prince Harry took part in.
In the interview, Markle admitted her mental health had deteriorated to the point she was feeling suicidal but received no help from the royal family, and this was part of the reason she and Harry had decided to take a step back from royal life.
On Good Morning Britain the next day, Morgan made several angry comments about the couple and Markle in particular, and said he did not believe her, saying "I don't believe a word she says".
Piers Morgan and Susana Reid on GMBNow the former GMB host, whose father is from Galway, has written a short statement surrounding the controversy.
Taking to Twitter, Morgan said: "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.
He added: "Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions."
He wrote the statement alongside an image of Winston Churchill and a quote which reads "Some people's idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage."
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
On Monday's show, when Morgan said he 'doesn't believe' Meghan, Royal correspondent Chris Shipp told the presenter "Someone saying they had suicidal thoughts, I don’t think you can say that she was lying at that point. She had these thoughts, pretty serious ones."
He later clarified his comments where he said "it's not for me to question whether she felt suicidal, I wasn't in her mind and that's for her to say".
ITV runs a mental health campaign, Britain Get Talking, which encourages people to speak out about how they are feeling and to share with someone if they feel their mental health is suffering.
On yesterday's GMB, the presenter walked off his own show after he was called out by his co-star Alex Beresford for his continued 'diabolical behaviour' and treatment of Meghan Markle.
"I understand you don't like Meghan Markle," Beresford said on the show. "You've made that so clear a number of times on this programme."
Presenter Morgan walked off the show while Beresford was speaking, but returned about 15 minutes later.
According to ITV News, an Ofcom spokesperson confirmed they have launched an investigation into Monday morning's episode "under our harm and offence rules".
