‘Where is the Outrage?!’ Dan Abrams Asks Why Media Isn’t Defending Piers Morgan From UK Regulator Probe

Leia IdlibyMar 10th, 2021, 4:55 pm
 

Mediaite founder Dan Abrams questioned on his SiriusXM radio show why the media has not defended Piers Morgan following news that a British media regulatory agency is investigating the former Good Morning Britain host.

Morgan railed against Meghan Markle on Monday’s Good Morning Britain, following her and Prince Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey — claiming Markle was lying about several claims she made about the royal family.

Markle revealed to Winfrey that when she approached people in the royal “institution” for help regarding her suicidal thoughts, they turned her down.

“Who did you go to? What did they say to you? I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report,” Morgan said Monday on his show.

The comments sparked intense backlash, with U.K. regulator OFCOM later revealing that they would launch an investigation into the episode, after they received more than 41,000 complaints about the host’s comments.

Discussing the topic Wednesday on SiriusXM’s POTUS Channel, Abrams noted that despite the backlash, that under the United States Constitution there would be no legal basis for the probe. Abrams asked where the media outrage is in the United States over such an investigation considering how widely the story is being covered.

“Piers Morgan is a controversial media figure who does not believe the account of another controversial media figure, and now royal, Meghan Markle,” Abrams said, later adding, “And for that he’s being investigated.”

Abrams then aired audio of a clash between Morgan and Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, a guest on his show, during which Mos-Shogbamimu called the host “disgusting!”

“Now, would I have said what Piers Morgan said? No,” Abrams said following the clip. “Do I condone what he said? No. I don’t know Meghan Markle, he does, but she seemed credible to me. I felt for her, but what do I know? That’s not the point.”

He added that in the United States, an investigation “would never occur” due to a controversial or even “ugly” comment. Many callers challenged Abrams about the fact that U.S. law doesnt apply to England to which Abrams responded “that doesn’t mean we can’t criticize the law and investigation.”

“I don’t want some government approved regulator deciding whether something I say crosses a random line of propriety,” he said, adding that Morgan is now being “investigated by an entity funded by the British government over those comments.”

“So where is the outrage here?!” Abrams exclaimed.

The host played several other clips from this week, including Morgan storming off set after another altercation with a Good Morning Britain guest.

“Look, it doesn’t matter to me whether you like him or you hate him,” Abrams added. “What anyone who cares about the First Amendment should be offended by is this investigation under Section 2 of the U.K. broadcasting code called ‘Harm and Offense.'”

Abrams then read a portion of the definition, which explains that the code is meant to ensure that any television or radio content that might cause offensive is supported by the context.

“And then the context is defined by ‘the degree of harm or offense likely caused by the inclusion of any particular sort of material,'” Abrams added. “The degree of offense that someone takes?! That’s going to get you sanctioned by a government approved regulator?”

“Where is the outrage here?! Where are the First Amendment advocates?!” Abrams added, later asking, “Where’s the mainstream media?!”

The SiriusXM host gave credit to CNN’s Jake Tapper, for being one of the few to take issue with the probe.

“This is what happens when you live in a country where there is no First Amendment,” Tapper wrote on Twitter. “Insanity.”

Listen above, via The Dan Abrams Show.

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