Meghan Markle lodged formal complaint with broadcaster over Piers Morgan's mental-health comments, reports say

• Meghan Markle complained to ITV about Piers Morgan's comments on her Oprah interview, reports say.
• Markle is said to have written directly to ITV CEO Carolyn McCall.
• Morgan left "Good Morning Britain" on Tuesday.

Meghan Markle lodged a formal complaint with ITV over Piers Morgan's comments about her on Monday morning's "Good Morning Britain" broadcast, the British newspapers The Guardian and The Telegraph reported.

According to the reports, Markle is believed to have written to ITV CEO Carolyn McCall on Monday raising concerns over Morgan's comments and specifically how they might affect viewers dealing with mental illness or suicidal thoughts.

Morgan had said on Monday's show that he "didn't believe a word" Markle said after showing a clip of the royal couple's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in which Markle said she experienced suicidal thoughts during her time as a working royal and was denied help from senior members of the royal institution.

The British broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, said Tuesday that it would investigate the episode of "Good Morning Britain" after receiving 41,000 complaints, and later that day ITV announced that Morgan had stepped down from the show.

ITV's royals editor, Chris Ship, tweeted Wednesday: "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."

ITV has declined to comment. Insider has also contacted representatives for Markle.

Reports Wednesday indicated that Morgan was initially asked by senior ITV staff members to apologize for his comments live on the air but refused and instead decided to leave the show. The story was first reported by the newspaper The Sun.

"Piers was not going to back down," an ITV source told The Sun. "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."

The source continued: "When he refused to apologize, there was a standoff. And ultimately it ended with him telling producers he would not host the show anymore. 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."

On Wednesday morning, as "Good Morning Britain" aired without him, Morgan released a statement on Twitter standing by his comments and framing the issue around freedom of speech, saying it was a hill he was "happy to die on."

"On Monday, I said I didn't believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview," he said. "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."