Piers Morgan has savaged Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s plans to sue the Mail On Sunday, accusing them of trying to “bully the press into fawning sycophancy”.
The Duke Of Sussex released a scathing statement about the UK tabloid press’ treatment of his wife on Tuesday evening, alleging that the Mail On Sunday had unlawfully published one of the Duchess’ private letters.
After Harry spoke of his sadness at seeing Meghan “falling victim to the same powerful forces” that befell his late mother Diana, Piers branded his lengthy statement “disingenuous”.
“I’ve never read a more savage attack on the press than this one by Harry/Meghan. Nor a more disingenuous one,” he wrote on Twitter.
“They’ve had the praise & criticism their behaviour has warranted.
“They talk of bullying but this is their attempt to bully the press into fawning sycophancy.”
In a separate tweet, the Good Morning Britain presenter also called the royal couple’s decision to launch legal action after a run of positive headlines about their tour of Africa “bizarre”.
Piers wrote: “Wow... after the best week of press they’ve enjoyed all year, Meghan & Harry go to vicious war with the press. Why would they do this now, just when they had turned round their negative PR? Bizarre strategy.”
Piers has been a vocal critic of Meghan and Harry over the course of their relationship, previously penning a column for the Daily Mail accusing the Duchess of being a “ruthless” social climber and ditching their friendship after she first reached out via Twitter.
“I knew her for about a year and a half, got on really well with her,” he wrote in December 2018.
“When someone more important and influential came along, in the shape of Prince Harry, I was instantly dumped like a sack of spuds.”
In a statement on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s official website on Tuesday, Prince Harry said the couple had been driven to take legal action following “relentless propaganda” about Meghan.
“Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son,” he wrote.
“There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level.”
Despite Piers’ comments, the statement won widespread praise on social media, including support from well-known names...
According to the law firm Schillings – which is representing the Duchess of Sussex – she has filed a High Court claim against the Mail On Sunday and its parent company, Associated Newspapers, alleging misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
The Mail On Sunday has said it “stands by the story” it published and would be “defending this case vigorously”.