Piers Morgan has called his Good Morning Britain exit a “farce” and compared himself to Nelson Mandela as he prepares for his new show.
Morgan left the ITV programme last year after causing controversy when he said he didn’t believe the Duchess of Sussex’s claims in her Oprah interview – which included allegations of racism.
There were more than 50,000 complaints to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, which later ruled the comments did not break the rules.
Morgan is back with a show called Uncensored for the launch of TalkTV on 25 April, alongside the likes of Sharon Osbourne and the Sun’s former political editor Tom Newton Dunn.
“I feel like Nelson Mandela when he came out of prison. It’s like the long walk to free speech freedom,” Morgan said ahead of his new gig.
Long Walk to Freedom is the anti-apartheid icon’s famous autobiography.
In a Twitter post on Monday, Morgan said social media had got “very upset” about the comparison – so posted some pictures of himself with Mandela “to really wind you all up”.
The former tabloid editor said his new show aimed to air a wider spread of opinion – “uncancel those who have been cancelled” and “re-platform those who’ve been de-platformed”.
“You shouldn’t be shamed or vilified or cancelled for having an opinion, unless you genuinely are spewing hateful bigoted stuff,” he said.
On his acrimonious GMB exit, Morgan added: “I thought the whole thing was a farce and I’m delighted that actually, as a result of the farce, we’ve ended up with a whole network which is now dedicated to preventing that kind of farce from recurring.”
Ofcom ruled the programme had not broken broadcasting rules because it gave balance and context, with opposing views “forcefully expressed by other presenters and guests”.
It also said Morgan was entitled to say he disbelieved the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and “express strong views” that challenged their claims.
Morgan’s show on the new TalkTV channel will be available on Sky, Virgin and Freeview in the UK, plus FoxNation in the US and Sky News Australia.
