Piers Morgan, the Good Morning Britain host, who in the past has called Meghan Markle a 'selfish social climber', leaked a Twitter message sent to him privately by the Duchess of Sussex in 2015.
The message, which is seen as an apparent bid by Morgan to prove that he shared a cordial relationship with Markle in the past, was posted on his Twitter on Wednesday.
What did the message say?
Sharing the old message with his 7.1 million Twitter followers, Morgan wrote: "In happier times... when Meghan first slid into my DMs... think it's fair to say she's probably not such a 'big fan' of mine now." The show's host further went to share a screenshot of the message sent by Markle, which read: "Well hello there - thanks for the follow. Big fan of yours!"
However, Morgan's latest tweet drew ire from ardent Markle supporters on the social media platform, who were quick to react against the leaked post:
"Please get over this obsession with Meghan being your friend," wrote one user.
"Hmm looks like you followed her first and she was being polite to you," tweeted another.
"I'd say she's probably got other things to think about at the moment besides whether she's still a 'big fan' of a breakfast TV presenter tbh," commented a user.
Piers has called Harry and Meghan's decision to 'step-back' as disgusting
Often accused of having a 'personal vendetta' against the Duchess, 54-year-old Morgan has criticized Prince Harry and Markle for bullying the Queen over their recent decision to step back as royals. He took to social media: "BREAKING: Harry/Meghan have successfully bullied the Queen into letting them have their cake & eat it."
Calling their decision disgusting on his show, Morgan had said: "I think what they did to The Queen is disgusting, I really do. I'm even more disgusted that The Queen has felt compelled to roll over and accept this. They're now going to have a half in half out, where they probably won't even live in this country most of the time, but they're still going to want to have the protection of the royal protection officers at the cost of the taxpayer."
In the past, Morgan who accused Markle of using his friendship to develop contacts within the industry, has often suggested that the Duchess is known to cut off people from her life when they are of no use to her.
However, despite being repeatedly called 'a fake, ruthless social climber who used her marriage to get to the top' by Morgan, the former Suits actress had remained tight-lipped.
Meghan had 'ghosted' Morgan
It is believed that the relationship between Markle and Morgan turned sour after the former 'ghosted' him after meeting Prince Harry in 2016.
In the words of Morgan: "In 2016, we met for drinks in London at my favourite pub while Markle was in town. She met Prince Harry at the dinner that night, went on a solo date with him the next night, and I never heard from her again. Not a word. I'd been ghosted."
Is Piers Morgan a bully?
In July 2018, Morgan who wasn't invited to the royal wedding, called Markle a hypocrite after turning her back on her ailing father. "She prides herself on charity work, yet seems to have forgotten that old truism: charity begins at home," he wrote.
A few months later, Morgan lashed out at the Duchess again by calling her a ruthless social climber: "Meghan Markle is a ruthless social climbing actress who has landed the role of her life and is determined to milk it for all she can - and that's why the Palace is beginning to turn on her."
The trip which was undertaken by Harry and Markle to Bristol in February, last year, didn't go down well with Morgan. The couple, while visiting One25, a charity supporting street workers, handed out bananas with empowering messages written on them. "Giving prostitutes an 'empowering' banana after they've spent the night subjecting their bodies to often vile, sexually depraved men... what were they supposed to do with these signed bananas exactly?" commented the show's host.
