Former CNN host Piers Morgan has been on a media tour this week. He’s touched on many subjects, but bashing current CNN host Anderson Cooper appears to be at the top of his priority list.
And now CNN is responding. Morgan has been critical of Cooper, especially for providing what he deems a lackluster lead-in to his former 9pmET show. A CNN spokesperson shoots back saying Cooper had consistently better ratings than Morgan’s.
“For the two-and-a-half years that AC 360 served as the lead in to Piers Morgan’s program on CNN, it always delivered a higher rating than Piers’ program,” spokesperson Megan Rivers tells Politico’s Dylan Byers. “And for the 7 months that Piers Morgan’s program led into AC 360, 360 always delivered a higher rating than Piers’ program. It is sad that Piers is trying to find a new job by misrepresenting how he performed in his old one.”
Morgan has responded to CNN’s statement:
I have no wish to get into a Reservoir Dogs sequel with CNN.
However, let me just respond by saying I’m not remotely sad, I have a great new job at MailOnline, and when I came off air in March, Jeff Zucker congratulated me on a ‘splendid, terrific run’ and formally offered me a 7-figure sum to make 40 interview shows over the next two years. I didn’t realise he was joking!
As for Anderson, I thought he was terrific on The Mole.