Meghan Markle filed formal complaint with ITV over Piers Morgan remarks, reports say

LONDON — Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, filed a formal complaint with British broadcaster ITV earlier this week about former “Good Morning Britain” host Piers Morgan, according to multiple news outlets.

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The BBC, citing the Press Association, reported that the duchess, formerly known as Meghan Markle, made the complaint Monday, one day before Morgan quit the show. CNN also reported the news.

>> Piers Morgan quits ‘Good Morning Britain’ amid backlash over Meghan Markle comments

“So ... the Duchess of Sussex formally filed a complaint to @ITV on Monday,” ITV News’ royal editor, Chris Ship, tweeted Wednesday. “It’s thought to have been sent to the broadcaster’s CEO. Meghan raised concerns about how @piersmorgan’s words affect the issue of mental health and what it might do to others contemplating suicide.”

During Monday’s broadcast of “Good Morning Britain,” Morgan repeatedly criticized Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, for their decision to sit for an interview with Oprah Winfrey, at one point accusing them of “spray-gunning his family.”

“I’m sickened by what I’ve just sat to watch,” Morgan said. “This is a two-hour trash-a-thon of our royal family, of the monarchy, of everything the Queen has worked so hard for.”

Morgan also said he didn’t believe allegations of racism made by Meghan and Harry, or Meghan’s admission that she sought mental health treatment from the palace – and was denied – after unrelenting media scrutiny led her to contemplate suicide.

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Photos: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry open up about royal rift in interview with Oprah Winfrey This image provided by Harpo Productions shows Prince Harry, from left, and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, in conversation with Oprah Winfrey. (Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions via AP)

“I don’t believe a word she says, Meghan Markle,” Morgan said Monday. “I wouldn’t believe her if she read me a weather report.”

On Tuesday, officials with the U.K.’s media watchdog, Ofcom, announced an investigation after receiving more than 41,000 complaints about the episode.

ITV later announced that Morgan “has decided now is the time to leave ‘Good Morning Britain.’”

“ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add,” the network said in a statement.

Early Wednesday, Morgan took to Twitter to defend his comments.

“On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview,” he wrote. “I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions.”

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