British TV presenter Piers Morgan has defeated Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty’s record to attain new notoriety after his TV rant against Meghan Markle becomes Ofcom’s most complained about TV moments ever in British history.
According to new information released by the British TV watchdog, Ofcom received more than 57,000 complaints, 12,000 more than what it received in the famous Shilpa Shetty controversy way back in 2007. In 2007, alleged racist treatment of Shilpa Jade Goody (now dead) and Danielle Lloyd on the Celebrity Big Brother show had triggered a huge backlash from the ordinary British public. This had led to the registration of 45,000 complaints, making it the most complained-about TV moment in British history.
“We can confirm that this issue has attracted the highest number of complaints since our reporting began,” an Ofcom spokesperson was quoted as saying by Sky News.
Last week, Morgan was forced to leave his ITV show, Good Morning Britain, following his controversial comments on Meghan Markle and mental illness. Morgan was forced to leave the GMB, UK’s most-watched breakfast TV show, after the British media watchdog, the Ofcom, received nearly 50,000 complaints.
While presenting the GMB, Morgan had slammed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. He had accused Markle of lying and even belittled her claims on mental illness. This triggered a full-blow social media backlash with thousands of complaints being registered on the Ofcom website.
Morgan had later defended his rant against Markle after quitting the show. Speaking to reporters outside his house in London, Morgan had said, “I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth and I think the damage she’s done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible.
“If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.”
Meghan Markle herself had made a formal complaint to Ofcom over Piers Morgan’s comments about her interview with Oprah Winfrey