Piers Morgan asked ‘Do I get my job back?’ after he beat an Ofcom complaint made by the Duchess of Sussex in the wake of their controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The broadcaster had remarked on Good Morning Britain he ‘didn’t believe’ Meghan Markle’s claims about her mental health, including that she felt suicidal while pregnant with her son Archie.
The duchess had also claimed there were concerns within the royal family about ‘how dark’ Archie would be when he was born.
On Wednesday Ofcom ruled that Piers was entitled to share his opinion on Meghan’s comments.
In the wake of the news the jubilant TV star wondered if he would be allowed to return as anchor on the ITV daytime programme, which he quit in March this year during the fallout from his comments.
He tweeted: ‘I’m delighted OFCOM has endorsed my right to disbelieve the Duke & Duchess of Sussex’s incendiary claims to Oprah Winfrey, many of which have proven to be untrue.
‘This is a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios.
‘Do I get my job back?’
The Life Stories host continued the most public job (re)application in the world via his column in the MailOnline.
Blasting so-called ‘cancel culture’, he declared: ‘We now live in a woke-ravaged era where it’s become a punishable offence to say what you really think about almost anything for fear that someone, somewhere, will be offended.
‘This insidious “cancel culture” as it’s been termed represents the most serious threat to democracy in my lifetime.’
Piers continued: ‘I’m obviously delighted that OFCOM has supported my right to disbelieve the Sussexes’ lurid claims against the Royal Family, many of which have failed to stand up to even a scintilla of basic scrutiny of the kind that a woefully enabling Oprah should have conducted.
‘This is a resounding victory for free speech and a resounding defeat for Princess Pinocchios.
‘As OFCOM determined, to have restricted my right to disbelieve her and Harry would have been “chilling.”
‘And when Meghan and Harry, whose unofficially authorised biography is titled ‘Finding Freedom’, lick their failed censorship wounds today, I suggest they heed the words of George Orwell: “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”‘
He signed off: ‘Just one question remains: does this mean I get my job back?’
Ofcom’s 97-page long ruling stated that while Piers’ comments were ‘potentially harmful’ Good Morning Britain did not breach the broadcasting code.
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It read: ‘This was a finely-balanced decision. Mr Morgan’s comments were potentially harmful and offensive to viewers, and we recognise the strong public reaction to them. But we also took full account of freedom of expression. Under our rules, broadcasters can include controversial opinions as part of legitimate debate in the public interest, and the strong challenge to Mr Morgan from other contributors provided important context for viewers.
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‘Nonetheless, we’ve reminded ITV to take greater care around content discussing mental health and suicide in future. ITV might consider the use of timely warnings or signposting of support services to ensure viewers are properly protected.’
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