Piers Morgan has been cleared by Ofcom, the British media watchdog, which ruled that he did not violate broadcasting guidelines when criticizing Meghan Markle’s Oprah Winfrey interview.
A sort of report The British media watchdog reported on Wednesday that Morgan “did not violate its broadcasting rules” when he questioned Markle’s statement about suicidal thoughts on the “Good Morning Britain” live broadcast earlier this year. He left the British talk show shortly after commenting.
In March of this year, Markle and Prince Harry sat down with Winfrey for a blockbuster interview. In the interview, the duchess admitted that she had suicidal thoughts while she was still living in the UK and allegedly did not get her needs from the royal family. support.
After the interview, Morgan dismissed Markle’s mental health problems and accused her of falsely claiming that the royal family refused to get her help. He also insisted that he did not “believe a word” and the Duchess said that if “she showed me the weather forecast,” he would not believe her either. British Broadcasting Corporation Report.
According to Ofcom’s data, a record 57,793 complaints-the highest in its 18-year history-were filed in response to Morgan’s tirade. According to reports, Markle himself lodged a complaint against the broadcast reporter.
Despite this, the regulator cleared out any misconduct by Morgan and the “Good Morning Britain” network ITV, and claimed in its report that although the reporter’s comments “may be harmful and offensive,” it “fully considered freedom of speech.”
“In line with freedom of speech, Mr. Morgan has the right to say that he does not believe the allegations of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and to hold and express strong opinions that strongly oppose their claims. [Ofcom broadcasting] The code allows individuals to express strongly held and controversial views, including those that may be harmful or highly offensive, and allows broadcasters to include these views in their programs,” the report noted, adding, “in this regard The restriction of this kind of opinion will, in our opinion, be an unreasonable and chilling restriction on the freedom of speech of broadcasters and viewers. “
The regulator continued, “According to our regulations, broadcasters can use controversial opinions as part of a legitimate debate in the public interest, and the strong challenge to Mr. Morgan by other contributors provides an important context for the audience.”
In response to the report, Morgan said on Twitter that he believed this “loud” victory proved his correctness.
“I am very pleased that OFCOM supports my right not to believe in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s inflammatory accusations against Oprah Winfrey, many of which have been proven to be untrue,” he said. Tweet“This is a huge victory for freedom of speech, a huge defeat for Princess Pinocchio. Can I get my job back?”
In an exclusive interview SunMorgan said he was angry at being called a racist for not believing Markle’s claims. He claimed that “I never said anything about Meghan Markle has anything to do with her skin color. This slander makes me very angry.”
Morgan further insisted that he was free to share his views of Markle and that he was free to distrust her because others were free to distrust him.
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