Piers Morgan hinted at quitting GMB hours before the official announcement with a cryptic tweet about ‘dying of boredom’
PIERS Morgan hinted at quitting Good Morning Britain hours before yesterday's official announcement, sharing a cryptic tweet about "dying of boredom".
The 55-year-old star's immediate exit from the breakfast show was announced last night, after he racked up over 41,000 Ofcom complaints over comments about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's bombshell Oprah interview.
🔵 Follow our Piers Morgan live blog for the latest on his GMB exit...
He sparked shockwaves on yesterday's show when he stormed off set after co-star Alex Beresford confronted him on his controversial comments.
And Piers hinted he'd had enough of the programme soon afterwards, retweeting a fan who wrote about how the presenter "knows good TV".
They'd written: "Piers Morgan knows what makes good TV. I think he does genuinely get riled up (believe me, I've seen it first hand), but there's a reason why these outbursts happen on set while the cameras are rolling.
"I've got no doubt that real emotions are at play, but Good Morning Britain is able to co-opt and perform criticisms of the show within the context of the show itself.
"That's the dynamic between Susanna and Piers, that's the role Alex Beresford plays as well. It's all in house!
"For what it's worth, I don't think Piers walking off was 'staged'. I think it's more like improv - responsive and reactive, but still fundamentally about spectacle."
Piers added a famous quote as he proudly shared the theory with his 7.8 million Twitter followers, quipping: "'I would rather die of passion than of boredom.' Émile Zola."
And his refusal to bow to the pressure of outraged viewers continued today, where he reinforced his claim that Meghan Markle was lying about her mental health struggle.
It comes as:
- Piers Morgan said he STILL doesn't believe Meghan Markle after quitting GMB
- Meghan Markle may have complained about Piers to ITV, it was reported
- Piers Morgan quit GMB after refusing to apologise on air
- Ranvir Singh made an awkward blunder on TV telling fans 'Piers will be here later'
- Susanna Reid paid emotional tribute to ‘outspoken &; disruptive’ Piers
- What happened between Piers Morgan and Alex Beresford?
- Here's why Piers isn't on GMB this morning
He defiantly wrote: "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."
He quoted Churchill on free speech, adding: "Some people's idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they are like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage."
Piers later boasted that his "work was done" after learning yesterday's Good Morning Britain beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings for the first time ever.
The episode of the show was more explosive than ever thanks to Piers and Alex's fiery clash - and Piers was visibly fuming during the discussion.
He remained off-air for almost 20 minutes - later tweeting that he needed to "cool down".
Alex, 40, hit a nerve when he said that Piers' issue with Meghan was off the back of his personal grudge after she only met him for one drink before allegedly "cutting him off".
When the star returned to the studio, he lashed out at the weather presenter for being "derogatory" about a work colleague.
He seethed: "What we need to do is talk about it in a civilised manner, considering we work on the same show on the same team."
Alex insisted at the time that he "respected" his co-star as he said that he isn't accusing Piers of being racist - and later took to Twitter to say he couldn't "sit on the fence" on such sensitive issues as he thanked fans for their support.
The Sun revealed last night that Piers chose to quit Good Morning Britain entirely after top execs ordered him to apologise to Alex on air.
ITV bosses were also concerned that his comments about Meghan's mental health clashed with their landmark campaign Get Britain Talking after it prompted criticism from leading charity Mind.
A source told us: "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.
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“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."
They went on: "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.
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";Unfortunately there were also a lot of concerns raised with the GMB production team too. Charity Mind also expressed their concerns to senior execs at ITV saying it clashes with their campaign."
Ranvir Singh replaced Piers as Susanna Reid's co-host on the show today, with Susanna giving an emotional tribute to the "disruptive and outspoken" star.