Britain's ITV network announced today that anchor Piers Morganwill be leaving Good Morning Britain after on- and off-air backlash to comments he made about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey. Morgan has long been a controversial figure in media, however, to the point where other hosts have pledged not to work with him. Read on to find out which American celebrity talk show host banned Piers Morgan entirely, and for more on unwanted visitors, check out The One Guest Jimmy Kimmel Banned From His Show.
Morgan was the only celebrity Rosie O'Donnell preemptively banned from her evening talk show.
Kathy Hutchins/ShutterstockBack in 2011, ahead of the premiere of her short-lived OWN series The Rosie Show, Rosie O'Donnell was asked by Access Hollywood whether or not there were any celebrities who wouldn't be welcome on set.
"Yes, I've banned Piers Morgan," she said. "He banned Madonna for no reason when his show started, so I'm banning Piers Morgan! I don't have anybody banned, but if I have to make a list, he's on it."
In December 2010, before his CNN talk show Piers Morgan Tonight had even started, Morgan told The Hollywood Reporter that he would never want to interview Madonna. "She's too vegan for TV," Morgan said. "We have Lady Gaga now. So Madonna is banned from my show."
O'Donnell and Madonna met on the set of the 1992 film A League of Their Own, and have stayed close ever since. During an interview with Howard Stern in April of 2020, O'Donnell shared that she still talks to Madonna frequently and that they've turned to each other for comfort throughout the pandemic. So for her, banning Morgan was about standing up for a friend. For another host's hard line, check out The One Guest Anderson Cooper Banned From His Show.
But O'Donnell later filled in for Morgan.
CNNWhile Morgan never did guest on The Rosie Show, O'Donnell actually ended up filling in for Morgan for a February 2013 episode of Piers Morgan Tonight. (The show ended for good later that year.) During an interview with CNN before the show, O'Donnell was asked if she was going to "make it her own." In response, she said, "I'm going to do his show for [Morgan] cause he's on vacation, that's it."
She was also a guest on Morgan's show as in 2012, where she discussed her difficult childhood and her relationship with her dad. Despite her earlier remarks about Morgan, the visit went smoothly. For a celebrity who got on her bad side during her daytime series, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, check out Rosie O'Donnell Reveals the One Guest She Banned From Her Show.
Morgan still isn't a fan of Madonna—and talks about it often.
Featureflash Photo Agency/ShutterstockAlthough Madonna has never been on Morgan's show, he still seems to have a lot to say about her. "She's so incredibly annoying," Morgan said of the pop star during a 2015 interview with Meredith Vieira. "She's just one of these people that seems to always want to shock and offend us."
Morgan also brought his opinions about Madonna to social media in March of 2020. On Twitter, he replied to one of her posts accusing her of "promoting [herself] with these incessant toe-curling attention seeking-videos" instead of raising money for people impacted by COVID. And for more entertainment news sent right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Today, Morgan stormed off his own show and apparently won't be coming back.
ITV BreakfastThe morning after the estranged royals' interview was broadcast, Morgan said on Good Morning Britain that he was "sickened by it." He accused Markle of dropping a "race bombshell" and trashing the Royal Family and suggested that she was lying about experiencing mental health issues due to the treatment she received from Britain's tabloid press and a lack of support from the royal institution.
On Mar. 9, when his co-anchor Alex Beresford criticized him for his comments about Markle, Morgan stormed off the set. Later that day, ITV released a statement saying that he would not be returning to the show.
"Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain," the statement reads. "ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add."
The United Kingdom's Office of Communications shared that it's launching an investigation into the situation after receiving over 41,000 complaints from viewers about Morgan's remarks. And this is not the only instance where Morgan has been called upon for making insensitive comments on air and in writing. He's been criticized over the years for spouting opinions that many view as transphobic, misogynistic, and racist.
