Piers Morgan and guest Jason Lee clashed during a heated exchange on Morgan's YouTube show, Uncensored, on Monday (26 October), as the conversation turned to Meghan Markle, the Sussexes, and race.
The presenter argued that the Sussexes and the Metropolitan Police should have done more after learning that Thomas Markle had been accused of child abuse.
The January 2019 accusations
"I have a very open mind about this. I'm not condemning Meghan Markle for it. I'm simply saying why is it that the British police and the Sussexes were given this unbelievably serious information in January 2019 and none of them appeared to have acted on it at all?" Piers began.
As he declared that it's not "unreasonable" to want to know what they did after the accusations came to light, Piers' comments clearly struck a nerve with Jason.
Race enters the debate
"I'm frustrated because every time I come on this show and every time we talk about Meghan Markle, it's like anything anybody else does is like, 'What did she do? What did she not do?'" Jason said.
"And it's like, damn, the Black woman doesn't ever get a break. I'm just trying to understand what she should have done, not what she did, to hold her own father accountable."
"The black woman! What does her skin colour have to do with it?" Piers fired back.
"Colour has to do with everything when we talk about Megan Markle in any context [and when] I've ever been on a show with you. It's been about race. I called it out every time. You know that," Jason replied.
Accusations of racism
"Just to be clear, you think any criticism I have of Meghan Markle is because she's from biracial parents?" Piers said.
"I think every issue that your country has had with Megan Markle in general is because she's a Black woman," Jason declared.
"At the end of the day, she did what she was supposed to do as a daughter. She reported her father. She distanced him from her kids. She doesn't have anything to do with him."
He added: "He's tried to profit off of her in the past. We know he's trash, right? So maybe, to the lawyer's point, he's presumed innocent till proven guilty. I'll give him that because that's the way the rule of law is supposed to work."
Exchange escalates
Piers responded: "I think the idea that any criticism of Meghan Markle is racially motivated is so absurd….with all due respect, it's bullshit. If you don't believe me, go back and read the piece I wrote."
Jason insisted: "I'm not calling you a racist."
"Well, hang on. Hang on. Hang on, you've had your say," Piers said.
"If I was calling you racist, I'll tell it to your face," Jason replied.
"Well, you are. You kind of are, actually. You kind of are, and that's fine," Piers said.
"No, I'm not," Jason concluded.
Jason went on to reference US President Donald Trump, saying: "Unfortunately, again, I live in a country where our president [Donald Trump], as you know, with the Epstein files, has yet to be given his day in court. So, I don't know. Yeah, I think race does play a part when it comes to Meghan."
