British TV Host's 'Vile' Harry and Meghan Joke Sparks 402 Complaints

A British TV host who joked the royals should throw Prince Harry and Meghan Markle off the Buckingham Palace balcony could be investigated by a regulator.

Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel's April 20 show on GB News triggered 402 complaints to U.K. TV watchdog Ofcom, which is considering whether to launch a probe.

Host Eamonn Holmes was speaking with guest David Mellor, a former U.K. government minister during the '80s and '90s, about whether Prince Harry and Meghan would be on the Buckingham Palace balcony at Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.

In the April 20 segment, Holmes said: "Gotta be photographed, gotta be on that balcony, he's bringing a book out where he's slagging off Camilla and maybe William and his father.

"Why wouldn't they just throw him over the balcony and her [Meghan] with him?"

Ofcom said in a statement released to Newsweek: "We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate."

The saga similarly recalls the backlash against host Piers Morgan over comments on ITV's Good Morning Britain suggesting he did not believe Meghan's account to Oprah Winfrey of feeling suicidal while a working royal. That incident, however, triggered record numbers with 50,000 complaints to the regulator, including from the duchess herself.

The Response

Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel co-host Isabel Webster laughed at Holmes' comments while Mellor appeared to continue the discussion without reference to it.

"Do you imagine for a single, solitary moment she [the queen] didn't say to him, 'Harry, what's going on?' Why are you out there in California? Why have you thrown over the family business?" said Mellor.

Meanwhile, Holmes' remarks were heavily criticized on Twitter for appearing to incite violence against the couple.

Omid Scobie, author of the Harry and Meghan biography Finding Freedom, posted: "Everyone is entitled to an opinion, especially on an interview made for public consumption. But you know what isn't acceptable? Vile 'commentary' that only serves to incite violence and hate."

Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, who campaigns on race in Britain, tweeted: "Eamonn Holmes casually incites the murder of Prince Harry and Meghan on national television and y'all letting him away with it?

"All this hate from Eamonn because Harry married an 'uppity' woman with a Black mother and Harry wants to live a life of his own. So very British."

Piers Morgan's Ofcom Investigation

The saga has some echoes of Morgan's famous retreat from his role hosting Good Morning Britain in the aftermath of Oprah Winfrey's CBS interview with Meghan and Harry from March 2021.

Meghan told Winfrey how she experienced suicidal thoughts while a working royal but was told she could not go to a psychiatric ward to recover because it would make the monarchy look bad.

She said: "I just didn't want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought."

However, Morgan said he did not believe her account during a vocal argument in the hours that followed the broadcast.

Morgan told ITV viewers: "I wouldn't believe her if she read me a weather report."

The remarks led to 50,000 complaints to Ofcom. But the regulator ultimately ruled Morgan was entitled to make the remarks because the other voices within the program challenged him, providing balance.

Its ruling read: "Consistent with freedom of expression, Mr. Morgan was entitled to say he disbelieved the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's allegations and to hold and express strong views that rigorously challenged their account.

"The code allows for individuals to express strongly held and robustly argued views, including those that are potentially harmful or highly offensive, and for broadcasters to include these in their programming.

"The restriction of such views would, in our view, be an unwarranted and chilling restriction on freedom of expression both of the broadcaster and the audience."

How GB News Differs From Piers Morgan

Morgan walked out of his job at ITV after bosses asked him to apologize for his remarks following a complaint from Meghan herself.

However, GB News is unlikely to make a similar demand of Holmes as the channel's editorial charter says it does not "shy away from controversial issues."

So far there have been far fewer complaints about the latest incident, which is not surprising as ITV is a major, well-established channel and Morgan was commenting hours after arguably Harry and Meghan's biggest ever interview.

Morgan had also been criticized by mental health charities, including Mind, who expressed concern about whether his comments may make others less likely to seek help for fear of being disbelieved.

The Ofcom ruling read in regards to the Morgan matter: "Had it not been for the extensive challenge offered throughout the Programme by [co-host Susanna] Reid and [ITV royal editor Chris] Ship, we would have been seriously concerned.

"However, given the significant challenge to Mr. Morgan's comments provided by other presenters and contributors in the Programme, we considered that, overall,
adequate protection for viewers was provided and the potentially harmful and highly offensive material was sufficiently contextualised."

In the Holmes incident, GB News could be more vulnerable to an adverse Ofcom ruling because the segment did not contain balancing voices.