Piers Morgan Backlash Escalates: Embattled Host Says 'Troll Vowed To Murder' Him In Front Of Sons, Threats Made His 'Stomach Churn'
It's been a rough month for Piers Morgan, and trolls don't seem to be showing him any mercy following his questionable commentary regarding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month.
The embattled host shared his side of the past controversial few weeks — during which he left ITV's Good Morning Britain — revealing that one troll threatened to murder him in front of his kids after he accused the Duchess of lying during the couple's tell-all on Sunday, March 7, via his Mail on Sunday article.
Morgan noted that he believes the threats were part of a “clearly orchestrated social media pile-on."
And while he "always subscribed to the ‘if you dish it out, you’ve got to take it’ philosophy," the line was drawn when trolls brought his children into the equation.
"My three sons told me they too are all being targeted, and sent me screenshots of venomous abuse and threats of violence towards them,” he wrote of adult sons Spencer, Albert and Stanley in his article, which was published on Saturday, March 27.
"One troll vowed to murder me in front of them," he recalled, explaining that the troll added: "When your dad dies, the world will have a party."
The threats "made my stomach churn, especially as police are already investigating a death threat made to me and my eldest boy Spencer last month," the former America's Got Talent judge wrote, referring to the death threat he shared on February 16 via Twitter. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed to The Independent last month that the threats, which also targeted Morgan's mom, were being investigated.
Morgan further insisted that none of his sons “even care about Meghan Markle, let alone agree with my views on her"; however, “the Twitter troll mob has found them guilty by association,” he shared.
In his lengthy piece, Morgan admitted that he regrets storming off Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, March 9, following his heated debate with former co-host Alex Beresford regarding Harry and Meghan's interview.
“I knew it wasn’t a good look, the great snowflake-basher running away from confrontation," Morgan confessed. "And on reflection, I shouldn’t have done it."
Despite his storm-off regret, Morgan stood by his decision to leave the talk show, confirming that his only other option was to publicly apologize to Meghan — who filed a formal complaint against Morgan out of concern for how his comments could affect viewers who were also struggling with mental health issues — for doubting her claims.
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"I reached a moment of total gut clarity: f**k it, I wasn’t going to apologize for disbelieving Meghan Markle, because the truth is that I don’t believe Meghan Markle,” the 55-year-old continued, adding that he "should be allowed not to believe someone, and to say that I don't believe them" in a "free, democratic society."
"That, surely, is the very essence of freedom of speech?" he wrote before noting that if he said he now "believed Meghan," then he would be "lying to the audience," which is the "very thing I've accused her of doing."
In Morgan's lengthy article, he also defended pal Sharon Osbourne — who was axed from The Talk on Friday, March 26, after she defended Morgan's freedom of speech. He said both his and Osbourne's situations were "about a far bigger issue than one delusional Duchess,” adding that “everyone’s right to be free to express our honestly held opinions, forcefully and passionately if we feel like it.”
“If our rights to free speech are denied, then democracy as we know it will die,” he added before emphasizing that “it’s time to cancel the cancel culture before it kills our culture.”
Despite his tumultuous month, Morgan managed to find the silver lining in his departure from Good Morning Britain.
Besides receiving a slew of supportive messages after his resignation — with one fan writing: "I am actually crying. I suffer from depression and your dad makes me laugh every single Mon/Tues/Weds morning… I would honestly go as far as to say he kept me going on days I felt I couldn't. I'm devastated" — Morgan's value increased to almost $250 million.
"That should come in handy in my future contract negotiations!" Morgan quipped.
In addition, "Good Morning Britain smashed our ratings record again yesterday, and we finally beat BBC Breakfast for the first time. When I joined GMB in 2015, the BBC got three times our ratings and nobody apart from me ever thought we'd eclipse them," he explained, noting: "Well, we did, on my very last day. And it's one of my proudest achievements."
As OK! previously reported, Morgan came under fire after he questioned Meghan's claim that the institution denied her help after she asked them to seek assistance for her mental health struggles.
"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 a weather report," Morgan, 55, stressed on the Monday, March 8, episode of the morning show. "The fact that she's fired up this onslaught against our Royal Family I think is contemptible."
The following day, Beresford slammed Morgan for constantly attacking the brunette beauty, which resulted in Morgan storming off the stage and ultimately leaving the show. Shortly after, Osbourne came to her pal's defense, which resulted in her own heated debate with cohost Sheryl Underwood.
During the Wednesday, March 10, episode of The Talk, Underwood questioned how Osbourne could defend someone who "uttered" something "racist." In light of the bombshell conversation, CBS launched an internal investigation into the episode, putting the show on hiatus.
Morgan has since taken to Twitter multiple times to bash Underwood for labeling him a "racist" and taking part in Osbourne's public tear down.
