Piers Morgan

Piers Morgan
Morgan in 2023
Born
Piers Stefan O'Meara

(1965-03-30) 30 March 1965 (age 59)
Reigate, Surrey, England
Education
Occupations
  • Broadcaster
  • journalist
  • writer
  • media personality
Years active1985–present
Employers
Spouses
Marion Shalloe
​
​
(m. 1991; div. 2008)​
​
​
(m. 2010)​
Children4
RelativesRebecca Loos (second cousin)
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Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (/pɪərz/; né O'Meara, born 30 March 1965[1]) is an English broadcaster, journalist, writer, and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid The Sun. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of the News of the World by Rupert Murdoch, which made him the youngest editor of a British national newspaper in more than half a century.[2] From 1995, Morgan edited the Daily Mirror, but was fired in 2004.[3] He was the editorial director of First News from 2006 to 2007. In 2014, Morgan became the first editor-at-large of the MailOnline website's US operation.

As a television presenter, Morgan hosted the ITV talk show Piers Morgan's Life Stories (2009–2020), the CNN talk show Piers Morgan Live (2011–2014), and co-presented the ITV Breakfast programme Good Morning Britain (2015–2021) alongside Susanna Reid. He has been a judge on the television talent shows America's Got Talent (2006–2011) and Britain's Got Talent (2007–2010).[4][5][6] In 2008, Morgan won The Celebrity Apprentice US, appearing with future US president Donald Trump.[7][8] He was a presenter for TalkTV (now known as Talk), hosting the program Piers Morgan Uncensored from 2022 to 2024, before leaving the network and moving the show to YouTube.[9]

Morgan was the editor of the Daily Mirror during the period in which the paper was implicated in the phone hacking scandal. In 2011, Morgan denied having ever hacked a phone and stated that he had not, "to [his] knowledge published any story obtained from the hacking of a phone". The following year, he was criticised in the findings of the Leveson Inquiry by chair Brian Leveson, who stated that comments made in Morgan's testimony about phone hacking were "utterly unpersuasive" and "that he was aware that it was taking place in the press as a whole and that he was sufficiently unembarrassed by what was criminal behaviour that he was prepared to joke about it".[10] The judge in a 2023 court case against Mirror Group Newspapers found truthful evidence that Morgan knew about private phone hacking from a reporter, shared a method of phone hacking with a media professional while being questioned about a reporting scoop, and that Morgan played another's private phone message in the newsroom he had received from another tabloid editor.[11][12]

Morgan's outspoken views and controversial comments on Good Morning Britain have led Ofcom to adjudicate on multiple occasions.[16] In March 2021, Morgan left the programme with immediate effect, following his criticism of the Oprah with Meghan and Harry interview.[17][18] Ofcom received over 57,000 complaints from viewers,[19] including a complaint from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, herself;[20] Morgan was subsequently cleared of wrongdoing by Ofcom.[21]

  1. ^ "Piers Morgan | Biography, TV Shows, & Facts | Britannica". 8 June 2023.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Davies1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Luckhurst, Tim (23 January 2005). "So does Sly regret sacking Piers from the Daily Mirror?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. ^ Nudd, Tim. "Piers Morgan Leaving America's Got Talent". People. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  5. ^ "CNN cancels Piers Morgan Live | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Piers Morgan is Larry King's CNN replacement - TODAYshow.com". MSNBC. 8 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010.
  7. ^ Johnson, Caitlin (28 March 2008). "Relative unknown wins 'Celebrity Apprentice'". Today. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Piers Morgan has been replaced on Good Morning Britain". PinkNews. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  9. ^ Morris, Seren (29 April 2022). "TalkTV: How to watch Piers Morgan's new Uncensored show". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  10. ^ Sweney, Mark (30 November 2012). "Piers Morgan claims over phone hacking branded 'utterly unpersuasive'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  11. ^ Casciani, Dominic (15 December 2023). "Piers Morgan and hacking: What the Prince Harry case heard". BBC News. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  12. ^ Topping, Alexandra (15 December 2023). "Which Mirror bosses knew about phone hacking, according to Prince Harry ruling?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gdn20150615 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Indy20160411 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "Piers Morgan escapes censure over Christian homophobe remark". The Guardian. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  16. ^ [13][14][15]
  17. ^ "Piers Morgan leaves ITV's Good Morning Britain after row over Meghan remarks". BBC News. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  18. ^ Ravindran, Manori (9 March 2021). "Piers Morgan Quits 'Good Morning Britain' Following Meghan Markle Comments". Variety. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ofcom-17 March was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Foster, Max (10 March 2021). "Meghan formally complained to ITV about Piers Morgan's comments". CTV News. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  21. ^ Weaver, Matthew (1 September 2021). "Ofcom clears Piers Morgan over Meghan comments". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2023.