Piers Morgan walked off the "Good Morning Britain " set during a live broadcast.- His cohost Alex Beresford had called out his comments about Meghan Markle.
- Beresford called Morgan's behavior "pathetic" and "diabolical" as he left the set.
Piers Morgan stormed off the "Good Morning Britain" set Tuesday morning after clashing with the show's weather presenter Alex Beresford, who condemned Morgan's continued attacks on Meghan Markle.
Susanna Reid, who cohosts with Morgan, then sent the morning show to an early commercial break. The hosts had been continuing to discuss the fallout of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah, which aired in the UK on Monday evening, a day after its US broadcast. Morgan, however, has faced increasing criticism for his response to the interview and specifically for dismissing Meghan Markle's characterization of mental illness.
"I understand that you don't like Meghan Markle - you've made that so clear a number of times on this program," Beresford said. "I understand that you've got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle or 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, but yet you continue to trash her."
At this point, Morgan, 55, said: "I'm done with this. Sorry. You can trash me, mate, but not on my own show," while walking off the set. "See you later, can't do this," he said.
Beresford called Morgan's behavior "pathetic" and "diabolical" as the host left the set.
Moments later, he added: "I'm sorry, but Piers spouts off on a regular basis, and we all have to sit there and listen - 6:30 to 7 o'clock yesterday was incredibly hard to watch, incredibly hard to watch. This is, you know, he has the ability to come in here and talk from a position where he doesn't fully understand."
-Chris Rickett (@chrisrickett) March 9, 2021
Morgan later returned to the set to continue the discussion about
Morgan's response to the explosive royal interview on Monday morning's edition of "Good Morning Britain" has been widely criticized, specifically his comments about Markle's disclosure that she had suicidal thoughts during her time as a working royal.
In response to a clip of the Oprah interview in which Markle said she approached senior members of the royal institution for help but was denied, Morgan said: "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."
-Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 8, 2021
The leading British mental-health charity Mind said it was "concerned and disappointed" by Morgan's response. In a full statement, the charity said: "We were disappointed and concerned to see Piers Morgan's comments on not believing Meghan's experiences about suicidal thoughts today.
"It's vital that when people reach out for support or share their experiences of ill mental health that they are treated with dignity, respect, and empathy. We are in conversations with ITV about this at the moment."