Media regulator Ofcom clear ITV after a record 58,000 complaints about Piers Morgan and his criticism of Meghan Markle.
The former Good Morning Britain presenter commented that he did not believe the Duchess of Sussex’s claims voiced in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March.
The duchess also filed complaints herself with both ITV and Ofcom.
Ofcom responded by saying that restricting Morgan’s views is a “chilling restriction” on free expression. However, they did criticise his “disregard” for the subject of suicide.
Morgan is “delighted” with the ruling, describing it as “a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios”.
Ofcom claim to have made a “finely balanced” decision. But say ITV “provided adequate protection to viewers from potentially harmful and highly offensive statements about mental health and suicide”.
The 57,793 complaints linked to GMB’s broadcasts on 8 and 9 March is a new high for Ofcom in their 18 year history. The incidents occurred on the mornings before and after the UK airing of Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview.
“Contemptible”
During the interview, the duchess revealed struggles with her mental health. She says it became so bad at one point she “didn’t want to be alive any more”. However, she claims to not have received the requested help from Buckingham Palace. The duchess also accused an unnamed member of the Royal Family of racism. Allegedly they questioned “how dark” her son Archie’s skin would be.
The day after the interview aired on TV, Morgan said live on air that he did not “believe a word she said”. And “the fact that she’s fired up this onslaught against our Royal Family I think is contemptible”. Following a subsequent clash with weather presenter Alex Beresford, he briefly walked off the show. Later, Morgan received criticism from mental health charity Mind.
Announcement of his departure from Good Morning Britain came that evening. It followed six years of often controversial time on the show.
Morgan has since conceded it is “not for me to question if she felt suicidal”. But he also defends his “right to be allowed to have an opinion”. Meanwhile, he continues to refer to Meghan as “Princess Pinocchio”.
Despite all the controversy surrounding him, Morgan recently received a nomination for the National Television Award for best TV presenter.
‘Unwarranted restriction’
Ofcom say: “Consistent with freedom of expression, Mr Morgan was entitled to say he disbelieved the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s allegations and to hold and express strong views that rigorously challenged their account”. The regulatory body says its code “allows for individuals to express strongly held and robustly argued views, including those that are potentially harmful or highly offensive, and for broadcasters to include these in their programming”.
In their view, restricting people’s opinions is “an unwarranted and chilling restriction on freedom of expression both of the broadcaster and the audience”.
However, the regulator added that they do have particular concerns about Morgan’s comments in relation to suicide and mental health. It said: “Mr Morgan’s approach to such an important and serious issue and his apparent disregard for the seriousness of anyone expressing suicidal thoughts”.
The regulator says the challenges from co-hosts Susanna Reid and Chris Ship provided “adequate protection for viewers”. Without this they “would have been seriously concerned”.
Writing about Ofcom’s decision in a newspaper column, Morgan says it “came down to an unequivocal and emphatic endorsement of my right to an opinion”. He says it is “preposterous that I had to leave a job I loved because I didn’t believe a demonstrable liar”. But he blames it on the corporate world “surrendering to the woke mob”. According to him they were baying “for blood”.
‘Important discussion on race’
Ofcom’s ruling also acknowledges that some viewers could potentially find Mr Morgan’s questions about racism very offensive. But say the conversations in the programme about race “provided open debate on the issues raised by the interview”. Ofcom say the show “allowed for an important discussion” on the “nature and impact of racism”.
As far as the regulator is concerned, ITV “clearly” expected lengthy discussion on racial issues as part of the interview coverage. The television network took appropriate steps to make sure to give context during these. Despite the strong opinions in the programme, “any potential offence was justified by the context”. “The comments and discussions about race and racism were not in breach of rule 2.3 of the code”, it adds.
On top of those about Piers Morgan, another 6,203 people lodged complaints about the Oprah interview. However, Ofcom says it has no plans to investigate these. A statement says that “the interview was clearly presented as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s personal testimony, which would be open to viewer interpretation”.
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