Piers Morgan has compared himself to Nelson Mandela, claiming his year away from TV presenting and his battle for “free speech” is similar to the former South African leader’s struggle against apartheid.
The former tabloid editor stormed off the set and out of his job at Good Morning Britain after being engaged in public debate when he said he did not believe the Duchess of Sussex’s claims from her Oprah Winfrey interview.
Morgan has recently sought to paint his GMB exit as the result of an effort to silence him.
Speaking before the launch of his new show, he said: “I feel like Nelson Mandela when he came out of prison. It’s like the long walk to free speech freedom.”
Morgan walked out of GMB last March after being asked to account for his on-air comments about Meghan. He had cast doubt on Meghan’s statement during the interview with Winfrey that she had been denied help with mental health concerns, saying he found her untrustworthy.
Several of Morgan’s colleagues, as well as Meghan herself, complained to senior ITV management that his use of such a prominent stage to discredit someone reporting mental health problems could deter other people from seeking help. Morgan later agreed to address that on air.
He was challenged by his co-presenter Alex Beresford, who suggested Morgan had been motivated by the duchess having previously made it clear to him she did not want to be his friend.
The episode prompted tens of thousands of complaints to the broadcast regulator Ofcom, which said Morgan’s remarks were “potentially harmful” but did not breach its rules, and ITV bosses reportedly wanted Morgan to apologise.
Now the presenter has claimed his new show on the Rupert Murdoch-owned TalkTV will “be standing up for democracy”, adding: “I want to uncancel those who have been cancelled. I want to basically make a point that cancel culture is as dangerous to society, in its own way, in terms of its attack on free speech and freedom of expression as coronavirus has been.”
He said his exit from ITV had been a farce but, as a result, “we’ve ended up with a whole network which is now dedicated to preventing that kind of farce from recurring”.
Speaking alongside Sharon Osbourne, one of his co-presenters, he added: “You shouldn’t be shamed or vilified or cancelled for having an opinion, unless you genuinely are spewing hateful bigoted stuff.”
Morgan, who left his job as editor of the Daily Mirror in disgrace after being found to have published faked photographs that purported to show British service personnel abusing Iraqi prisoners, will present the show Uncensored, with Osbourne and the former Sun political editor Tom Newton Dunn, on 25 April.
