Who is Piers Morgan, the controversial journalist who Luis Rubiales announced his resignation to?

There was surprise when Luis Rubiales announced his resignation as Spanish federation president to British journalist Piers Morgan.

Rubiales had been under a lot of pressure following his kiss of Jennifer Hermoso after Spain won the Women’s World Cup, which she insisted was not consensual.

The journalist he chose to announce his decision to quit to was Piers Morgan, a highly controversial journalist who has frequently been at the centre of controversial storms himself.

Who is Piers Morgan?

Piers Morgan was most recently in the footballing headlines when he secured an exclusive interview with Cristiano Ronaldo, when the soccer icon turned on Manchester United, shortly before departing from the club to go to Saudi Arabia.

He is also known for his sustained disliking to the Dutchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, whom he claims rejected a date with him to opt for a life with Prince Harry.

Piers Morgan’s macho controversies

Like Rubiales, he is often embroiled in sexism scandals and presenting ‘macho’ views.

One such example was on International Women’s Day in 2022, when he tweeted, ‘Is International Women’s Day over yet? I’m starving!’, seeming to insinuate that a woman should cook meals for a man.

In 2018, he accused the pop group Little Mix of using their sex appeal to sell albums instead of using their talent.

And, he criticised Julia Roberts for possessing body hair on her armpits, despite it being natural for women to have hair, backing up a social expectation for them to be shaved.

Piers Morgan’s invasion of privacy

Morgan was also accused of hacking phones in 2011, but denied knowledge of hacking during his tenure as editor of The Daily Mirror.

At the Leveson Inquiry, it was said that his defence was unpersuasive and that he must have been aware of the phone hacking occurring in the press.

When Piers Morgan quit GMB

He hosted ‘Good Morning Britain’, a morning chat show in the UK, from 2015 to 2021.

He was often criticised by viewers for his debating style, in which he would not allow people to respond to questions.

He quit the show when he was challenged on one of his views by one of his colleagues live on air.

“Okay, I’m done with this, I can’t do this,” he said when he stormed off the set.

Whilst he did return to set, he later formalised the decision to quit and moved to the USA to launch a show on TalkTV.