“I’m off to spend more time with my opinions,” he writes in a snarky tweet a day after his exit from “Good Morning America” because of his comments about the Duchess of Sussex.
It’s not uncommon for celebrities to take some time to reflect after some controversy has upended their lives, often coming back with an apology that many feel is insincere. Piers Morgan isn’t even making people have to decide whether to believe him or not.
The “Good Morning Britain” host, and former “America’s Got Talent” judge, appears to have no intentions of backing down or away from the comments that culminated in his exit from his “GMB” job. In fact, he basically doubled down on them.
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“On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview,” Morgan tweeted early Tuesday morning. “I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t.”
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
@piersmorgan
He then made it an issue of free speech saying that he’s fine if you disagree with him and choose to believe what Markle and Prince Harry said Sunday about their experiences as senior royals in Buckingham Palace.
“Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on,” Morgan continued. “Thanks for all the love, and hate.”
He then ended with a play on the prototypical celebrity apology response that they are choosing to take time away from whatever project they lost as a result of their words to spend time with their family. Only in Morgan’s case, he says he’s “off to spend more time with my opinions.”
He punctuated his statement about freedom of speech with a quote from Winston Churchill: “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.”
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Freedom of speech, though, does not mean freedom from consequences. The fact that he just lost a job — whether he quit, was asked to leave or was fired — and is not sitting in prison somewhere for his comments means that freedom is working just fine.
Morgan stormed off the set of “Good Morning Britain” on Tuesday after co-host Alex Beresford challenged Morgan’s Monday commentary where he asserted that he believes Markle was lying about her mental health crisis, and the royal family’s response (or lack thereof) to her pleas for help.
In particular, it seemed to be when Beresford alluded to the fact that he and Markle had enjoyed one night out together shortly before she met Harry, and she’d never contacted him again.
“She’s entitled to cut you off, if she wants to,” Beresford told Morgan. “Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has, yet you continue to trash her.” And with that, Morgan stormed out.
Soon after the on-air confrontation Morgan quit “Good Morning Britain” after serving as a lead anchor since 2015. A statement was released after news of the exit broke: “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.”
Apparently, Morgan did.
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