British television presenter Piers Morgan has been accused of bullying in an open letter to broadcaster ITV from almost 1200 professional U.K. television workers.
The letter was disseminated after the Good Morning Britain host was involved in a Twitter exchange with a former researcher, on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, Adeel Amini.
Amini has gone on from his tenure at Life Stories to start mental health support group The TV Mindset, manage the pan-broadcaster Coalition for Change and was also industry champion at last year’s prestigious Edinburgh TV Festival.
Industry response
British broadcaster Channel 4’s head of creative diversity Angela Chan criticised Morgan’s conduct in the exchange.
Chan said: “Adeel has achieved more positive change for this industry in the space of the last year than most do in a lifetime.
“You have it in your power to amplify voices like his. Your petty bullying on Twitter is just a small glimpse of the abuses of power in TV.”
As the story, first picked up by U.K. publication Broadcast, did the rounds Morgan responded once again via Twitter to Deadline journalist Jake Kanter, aiming to point out the perceived injustice of the situation.
ITV CEO Carolyn McCall and Kevin Lygo, managing director of media and entertainment, subsequently responded to the letter stating: “ITV takes any allegations of bullying and harassment in the workplace very seriously indeed, and we are clear there is absolutely no place for it in ITV.
“We have an independent whistleblowing helpline which we communicate through our induction process and which we monitor on an on-going basis, in addition to our internal grievance procedures channels, which are open to both permanent members of staff and freelancers.
“Our firm understanding is that in this instance, the tweet in question was not accusing Piers of bullying and harassment whilst working on Life Stories. Having spoken to both parties, there is therefore no internal investigation.
“In terms of the separate issue of social media exchanges, we understand some producers wish to express their views on their personal platforms, and we also think it is widely understood that Piers is a prolific and long-standing user of social media where he is well known for engaging in robust, heated exchanges, when criticism is levelled against him.
“However, Twitter accounts and the decision to comment on each other are their personal choices. Piers is a freelance presenter and we do not control his output on social media, or the other media platforms he writes for.
“To reiterate, we are clear there is no room for bullying at ITV and it is not tolerated. We are supportive and engaged members of Coalition for Change, and we will continue to work productively with colleagues across the industry.”
The letter can be read in full below:
Dear Carolyn McCall, Kevin Lygo and ITV,
Like many within our industry, we have been appalled by the online conduct of Piers Morgan in directing targeted abuse towards a freelancer. Morgan, with 7.7 million Twitter followers, has repeatedly targeted and tagged a former staff-member in derogatory posts.
As freelancers working within television, we feel a responsibility to speak out against bullying and harassment wherever we see it, including from on screen personalities who are all too often poorly reprimanded for unacceptable behaviour and abusive conduct.
Last year, conversations facilitated by The TV Mindset and other organisations, including The Coalition for Change, BECTU and the Edinburgh Television Festival, reiterated the need to eradicate the widespread issue of bullying and harassment. Now is the time for action.
We believe silence in the face of harassment is complicity, which in turn allows abusive behaviour to continue behind the scenes at every level of programme making. In particular, the abuses of on-screen talent are all too often overlooked, at the expense of the dignity, health and safety of the freelancers they target.
We hope you agree with us in denouncing bullying in all forms and publicly announcing the findings of ITV’s internal investigation into this matter.
Yours sincerely,
The undersigned
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