Cock of the Walk: A Piers Morgan Story
- Jake Smith
- Jun 19, 2021
- 15 min read
Foreword.
Hey nuggets,
I've been slightly overwhelmed over the past few days with the torrent of hatred buzzing around with regards to the Harry & Meghan Oprah Interview and more specifically the reaction by "journalist" and populist Television host Piers Morgan.
I tried to not have an opinion. I really did. But over the past few days, despite my resistance, Mr Morgan seems to (as the saying goes) taken up rent-free residence in my noggin in much the same way that the aforementioned Ms Markle has in his.
An Introduction to Megxit.
A bit of backstory for those who have had little to no interest in the "Megxit" situation and/or Mr. Morgan's OTT reaction to it.
"On 8 January 2020, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, announced on Instagram their decision to "step back as 'senior' members" of the royal family, split their time between the United Kingdom and North America, and become financially independent. The event was dubbed 'Megxit', and adopted globally on mainstream and social media, spawning various Internet memes and "Megxit" merchandising." (Wikipedia, "Megxit", 10/3/21.)
Several reasons were initially speculated on by the British Media. The Sussex's were accused at tantrumming over Prince Charles' plans for a slimmed down monarchy with Meghan in particular often portrayed by the press as a shrewd and controlling person, taking Harry away from his family. The coverage of the Duchess by the British press had already been somewhat lukewarm, but following the "megxit" announcement, the media appeared to take up arms against her.
In their interview with Oprah Winfrey, they describe how their withdrawal from Royal life was due in part to this bullying of Meghan by the media (for which they felt they received little to no support from the royal household.) and the racism they experienced as a result of Meghan's mixed heritage. A particular point of note in this interview is the accusation that an unnamed senior royal raised concerns as to how dark the skin of the then unborn Archie Mountbatten-Windsor's skin would be. Both the Duke and Duchess declined to name the person in question, but Harry did specify it was "Not his Grandmother or Grandfather."
The offending interview with Oprah Winfrey comes after over a year of attacks in the British Press. Almost as soon as their engagement was announced, the talented actress was reduced by the British media to and Divorced older woman. (She's three years older than Harry.) Perhaps worse than that, though, was the onslaught of loaded comments regarding her race. Barely a report on the engagement went by without mentioning her race in a thinly-disguised implication that she was somehow unworthy of being a royal.
Indeed as early in their relationship as 2016, Prince Harry issued a statement via Kensington Palace defending his relationship. It reads:
“Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public – the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.”
“Some of it has been hidden from the public – the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.”
“This is not a game,” it reads. “It is her life and his.”
All this serves as context as to the state of minds of the Duke and Duchess leading to their decision to withdraw from Royal life in 2020. It also offers reasoning behind their decision to speak to Oprah Winfrey in 2021. Perhaps after enduring five years of the British Media bullying and harassing them, they wanted to tell their story their own way, untwisted by the bigoted agenda of the Press.
Indeed, in the 2 hour chat with Ms Winfrey, The Duke said,
"My Biggest concern was history repeating itself." Referring to his mother, Diana. Now dubbed the "People's princess" by the very papers who tormented and demonised her in the last years of her life.
And no wonder! Whilst on tour in New Zealand, Meghan donned a dark blue skirt, which looked ever so slightly translucent in some photos. If you're for some reason creepy enough to squint intently at the photos, and the light is in the right place and the stars are too, you might *SHOCK* find evidence that *OHMAGAWD* Meghan is wearing underwear under her clothes. If you lean even closer, sweat dripping down your perverted pink forehead as you pant frenetically, you’ll most likely also note that she has *GREATSCOTT* real human legs as well! HOW VERY DARE SHE!!!!!!!1!!
“Meghan Markle has SHOCKED royal fans with a see-through dress,” said one Australian
journalist after presumably smacking a boomerang against their groin to quell their throbbing
erection.
"Meghan wore a see-through skirt and NOBODY noticed!" Said Hello Magazine, being sure to share a nice photo of the offending skirt to rectify the public's ignorance.
“Meghan’s see-through skirt in New Zealand was her true Diana moment,” wrote the express, jumping at the chance to once again compare the Duchess to Diana (and share a long-forgotten photo of Diana’s own ‘wardrobe malfunction’).
The Express perhaps, however, are not a great example of credibility in journalism anyway, being also guilty of the headline "Harry’s hair seems to have got a lot thinner since he tied the knot with Meghan Markle." (Yes, really.)
So we reach 2021, it's been years of drooling journalists salivating at the mouth at any chance to insult, deride, or dismiss Meghan Markle and her relationship with Harry. The couple, having recently relocated to America, decide to put their thoughts and experiences on the record in a two hour interview with Oprah Winfrey. Of course their interview is subjective. Of course it's filled with opinions alongside the startling facts of what they've been put through. It's an interview, not an interrogation. But for a couple who has let the media spend 5 years telling the other side of the story, perhaps a bit of bias in support of them is over due.
"BUT!", the Anti-Meghan keyboard warriors cry (because for some reason that's a thing that exists),
"If they value their privacy so much why give the papers pictures of their son? And why would they do the interview now?!
Meghan put it perfectly herself.
"If you're at work and you have a photograph of your child on your desk, and your coworker says, 'Oh, my gosh, your kid's so cute. That's fantastic! Can I see your phone so I can see all the pictures of your child?' You go, 'No. This is the picture I'm comfortable sharing with you.'"
We shouldn't be asking why they'd do an interview if they value their privacy, but how bad things must have become that they feel the need to do so.
The World According to Piers.
"Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and television personality. Morgan began his career in 1989 in Fleet Street as a writer and editor for several British tabloids, including The Sun, News of the World, and the Daily Mirror. In 1994, aged 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century[...] While working at the Daily Mirror, he was in charge during the period that the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone or "to my knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it"."(Wikipedia, Piers Morgan, 10/3/21)
Since becoming presenter of Good Morning Britain in 2015, he has attracted controversy on numerous occasions for his outspoken views, particularly regarding his friendship with Donald Trump and his mocking of Trans Rights (For a long time he changed his twitter bio to "Two-spirit Penguin" to mock those who self identify.)
Piers obsession with Meghan markle long predates their interview with Oprah Winfrey. In 2017, he retweeted the announcement of the couple's engagement with the message,
Notably, piers has spoken before about his "ex-friendship" with the duchess. The pair talked on social media in 2016 before having drinks at one of Piers' favourite pubs. He claims that shortly after this she met Harry and ghosted him. Despite being a married man, it's clear that poor Piers held a candle for dear Meghan, and has never quite got over the fact that their drinks, to her, were nothing more than a friendly chat with a journalist.
His personal obsession and vendetta against the Duchess went through such a sinister evolution that in the week leading up to the 8th March 2021 he tweeted more than 55 times about her and her husband. He has devoted far more time to ranting about Meghan Markle than he has to "holding the government to account," despite decreeing the latter as his crowning achievement as host of GMB.
Good Morning Controversy.
And so we come to 8th March 2021. As usual, ITV airs "Good Morning Britain," featuring presenters Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan. From the moment the episode begins, Piers launches into a seemingly unending rant against The Duchess of Sussex.
The interview with Oprah, he insists, is an affront to the monarchy. He would later state,
"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."
Firstly, this is demonstrably false. Watching the interview, not only were both Meghan and Harry respectful and even complimentary of The Queen and her husband Philip, but when they did make remarks about the Royals, it was either without naming a specific person, or about the institution as a whole and its relation to the media. Secondly, it was recorded weeks ago, long before the Duke took ill. Never one to be dissuaded by something as petty as facts however, Piers continued to play the "sick relative" card and reference to the Duke of Edinburgh's illness to drum up support among viewers in his war on Meghan.
But the climax of his torrent of abuse came after a clip from the Duchess' interview was played in which she tells Oprah she considered self-harming and had suicidal thoughts during the worst periods of bullying by the press,
"Look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry especially, because I know how much loss he has suffered, but I knew that if I didn't say it, then I would do it," She explained,"I just didn't want to be alive anymore."
Mr Morgan was unimpressed.
"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 weather report. The fact that she’s fired up this onslaught against our Royal family I think is contemptible."
Note the use of "Our Royal Family." Again he attempts to rile his audience. You must agree with him, his words suggest, otherwise you're not a patriot. If you think he's wrong, you're against the Queen, his choice of language indicates.
Everything Piers does and says on Good Morning Britain has always been carefully designed by him and his producers to stir just the right amount of outrage and controversy. He is Britain's answer to Fox News. The populist presenter who speaks his mind unashamedly and is the so-called "voice of the people." Except of course he doesn't speak his mind, he speaks whatever he thinks will drum up the most publicity. Note his famed determination to "hold the government to account." Whilst he will indeed shout over any attempt by a politician to answer a question of COVID, he's notably less aggressive on matters of Tax Evasion, Poverty, or any issue which he doesn't think will snag him a quick headline. This approach of deliberate shit-stirring has kept him in the public eye and made him indispensable for ITV, who count on him to bring in viewers who are drawn to juicy controversy like moths to a flame.
But, unfortunately for Mr. Morgan, this time he went too far.
ITV and Mental Health.
In 2020, Television presenter Caroline Flack committed suicide after months of aggressive bullying and treatment by the Media. Her personal relationship troubles had been scrutinised and she had been labelled and attacked for weeks. The country mourned and as mentioned earlier, like they did with Diana in 1997, the Media immediately switched tactics and revered her as tragic hero lost before her time.
Piers Morgan described her as a close friend, and revealed messages shared between the two of them in her final days where he offered support and encouragement.
ITV, the network which served as Caroline's main employer responded by restating their commitment to supporting mental health awareness. Indeed their connection to the subject was already established. On 5th October 2019, they interrupted their flagship programme Britain's Got Talent to speak directly to viewers about mental health.
"ITV brings people together for unmissable shared viewing moments. By disrupting one of our biggest shows this Saturday night, we want to reach a wide family audience and create the space to start a national conversation about mental wellness. At the heart of ITV’s social purpose strategy is this new five year commitment to help make mental wellness a priority in all our lives. We've worked with our long-term strategic partner, Mind, as well as Young Minds to develop Britain Get Talking. The campaign highlights the importance of talking and listening in building mental wellness, ensuring we make looking after our mental health as much of a part of our daily lives and culture as our physical health." (Carolyn McCall, ITV Chief Executive)
Britain Get Talking [was] the first stage of a five year commitment from ITV to promote mental wellness with the goal of getting 10 million people to take action to improve their mental or physical health by 2023. Charity MIND, who partnered with ITV for the project, said
“We are really pleased to be supporting ITV’s campaign and to have the opportunity to help reach millions of people with messages about looking after your wellbeing. We all have mental health, just as we all have physical health, and we can learn to look after it. At a time when only a third of people with a mental health problem get access to any kind of help and support, it’s important to do whatever we can to help people take steps to stay well and try and prevent mental health problems developing in the first place. Encouraging families to focus on the wellbeing of the next generation is a fantastic place to start.” (Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, mental health charity)
Understandably then, given the channels stated commitment to helping people take action to improve their mental health, and Piers' personal connection to someone who had suffered greatly not only with their mental health but at the hands of the media in a way so similar to Meghan, people were surprised at his reaction to Meghan's mental health revelations and the hypocrisy of his comments.
How could a channel which actively encouraged people to speak out regarding their mental health, allow one of it's core presenting team to admonish and bully someone for doing precisely that?
I Know You Are, But What Am I?
Of course, the very next day Piers tried to backtrack and gaslight his audience. He never said he didn't believe she was suicidal! No, he'd never do that! He simply didn't believe the royal family wouldn't have helped her. To paraphrase the British Government, he was calling her a liar in a "limited and specific way."
Except he wasn't.
His own programme's Twitter account shows as much!
There you are. In black and white with a little blue bird on top. "@PiersMorgan says he doesn't believe Meghan."
MIND, who partner with ITV on their Get Britain Talking campaign issued a statement,
By dismissing the mental health concerns of the Duchess so venomously, he sent a clear message to any viewers with mental health issues that their troubles aren't valid, that they're liars, that they need to prove themselves to be real. Not only did this message prompt Piers' beloved viewers to file over 40,000 complaints to OFCOM, but it is totally at odds with the message ITV claims to support.
So after pretending that we hadn't seen and heard what we most certainly had seen and heard, Piers continued with his campaign against the Duchess, bringing her estranged Father in to sprinkle hateful icing-sugar on the vendetta flavoured sponge cake he had been baking for the past few years. Eventually co-host Alex Beresford called him out on it.
He said: "I understand that you don't like Meghan Markle, you've made it so clear a number of times on this programme, and I understand you've got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle and she cut you off." Alex criticised Piers' rage towards Meghan
"She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to."
Piers didn't like that. The idea that a fellow presenter could talk back to him and question his omnipotent opinion enraged him, and so off he walked. The irony was not lost on the public. Piers Morgan, a man who has spent much of his presenting career mocking so-called "Snow-Flakes" for being easily offended and unable to take criticism proves himself to, by his own standards, be the biggest "Snow-flake" of all.
He did return later in the show after he'd wiped the rage sweat off his glowing pink forehead, but the tension in the studio was thick enough to act as the butter-cream in his sponge cake of pain.
Close the Door on the Way Out.
On the evening of 9th March 2021, ITV issued the following statement:
"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."
Which is the most wishy washy way of saying "He left before he was sacked." they could muster. Indeed, according to The Mirror, Mr Morgan quit after being ordered to apologise for his comments live on air. His refusal, inevitably, would have led to his sacking.
In the aftermath he tweeted,
Meanwhile, "Good Riddance" trended on Twitter.
Tweet Wars - Revenge of the Twits.
Not all of the internet was united against Piers, of course. Many people decreed what they saw as an affront to free speech. He was, they said, merely voicing his opinion! He'd been pushed out for speaking his mind! Indeed, the support of Piers Morgan by those who felt free speech had been violated extended to those who actively disagreed with his statements. But fear not, reluctant Piers-lovers, no free speech has been infringed upon.
There are several things wrong with that. But I'll summarise them simply.
1. The Right to free speech in the UK has, under law, exceptions for anything intending or likely to cause distress or alarm. Piers has been open in the past about his desire to stir up controversy and "tell it like it is." By speaking opinions that belittle and bully people with mental illnesses, he is not covered by the right to free speech.
2. Everyone has a right to their opinion. However, Piers Morgan didn't just air his opinions on his own Twitter feed, or in a blog post or YouTube video. He chose to air his opinions on a programme commissioned, paid for and produced by a private company who are also his employer. Given that his views fundamentally contrast with those of the channel on which he broadcast them, they are completely within their rights to stop broadcasting them, and stop platforming him.
3. Finally, almost all employees have a clause in their contract about not "bringing their employer into disrepute." Hell, if an Amazon Employee went on national television and said "God that Jeff Bezos is a bit of a cunt isn't he?" They'd be sacked. Now I don't know about you dearest ready, but I'd say 40,000 complaints to the regulator is bringing the company into disrepute wouldn't you? 40,000 isn't fringe numbers. This isn't nutters like Mary Whitehouse complaining that Dr Who promotes Satanism, this is real people taking real issue with a presenter who publicly bullied and obsessed over a woman for the sake of entertainment.
Piers Morgan repeatedly claims to stand for free speech. It appears, however, that speech should only be free if it is him doing the speaking. To be clear Piers, freedom of speech is not freedom from the consequences. You are entitled to your opinions. But if you choose to air them on a privately owned television network, you are not entitled to be free from challenge, and you are not entitled to be untouchable.
I'll say it once more so those in the back can here me...
This isn't about free speech. This is about a man in a position of authority and power using that position to bully another person. This is a presenter with wide reaching influence will-fully using that influence to incite a mob against a couple who value their privacy and want to be left alone.
This was never about free speech Piers, this was about you and your creepy vendetta against a woman who barely knows you exist.
Will he learn his lesson? Doubtful. This morning, as the dust settled and Britain was bid a robotic Good Morning by Susanna reading a souless ITV exec sanctioned statement, Piers tweeted:
Proving that it was never about anything other that satisfying an ego that had been bruised by a woman who didn't fancy him back.
This blog post's title is taken from Mr. Morgan's new twitter bio.
'One day you're cock of the walk, the next a feather duster’ - Margot Barber.
You may be a cock Piers, but I'd say you plucked your own feathers.
Afterword.
This blog is not unbiased. Whilst there are numerous indisputable facts throughout, (Piers did call Meghan a Liar, the Press did treat Meghan like shit etc.) I also have shared my personal opinion. For example, that Piers Morgan is a phone-hacking racist, transphobic biggoty fuck-sniff. (If speech is free Piers, I'm entitled to my opinion. And unlike you, I'm happy for people to disagree.)
I have sourced everything I can and made every possible case to back up my opinions, but I don't wan't to disguise any opinions as facts. So yes, this isn't a new report, its a blog. And this blogger is glad to see Piers get his comeuppance.
Phew! That was cathartic. Thank you, if you've made it to the end of my disorganised splurge of font-based diarrhea. I must advise anyone with a bigot squatting inside their minds to spend an afternoon writing a complex blog/article on the subject. It's definitely helped.
Toodles. 😘
(Yes, I am aware of the typos, grammatical cock-ups, and syntax fuckery that inevitably appear in this blog post. Please send all complaints to Good Morning Britain, ITV, WestWorks Building 1st Floor, White City Place, 195 Wood Lane, London, W12 7FQ)
For anyone affected by the issues raised in this blog, contact MIND.
Use their "Get Help Now" tool or Contact the Samaritans > 116 123
Comments