Battle for ‘Piers Morgan Live’ Slot Heating Up
As Piers Morgan prepares for his final day hosting Piers Morgan Live this Friday, March 28, 2014, the battle for his coveted 9pm slot on CNN is heating up in what PageSix describes as a “death match” between three of his fellow CNN anchors. Those familiar with Morgan’s controversial television personality are no doubt assuming that such a heated battle is something that he finds amusing.
Morgan’s show, which was cancelled last month due to poor ratings, had succeeded long time CNN primetime show Larry King Live. While legendary host King has expressed interest in returning to CNN, the battle has reportedly come down to three final contenders: Don Lemon, Bill Weir, and Jake Tapper. A TV insider told PageSix that it’s become like “The Hunger Games at CNN,” with the three fighting fiercely for the job.
Having previously worked together during their time at ABC, Bill Weir and Jake Tapper are reportedly being fiercely competitive in their fight for Morgan’s slot, with their rivalry described as being “to the point of strong hostility.” Meanwhile, a source for Business Insider claims that the competitiveness between them is “complete crap” and that while they are both contenders, the two remain friends.
Weir was tested last week while filling in as guest host for Morgan while the latter went on a previously scheduled vacation, and although he reportedly received good ratings, so far there has been no official confirmation from CNN as to who is in the lead. With no comment from CNN, speculation has arisen that popular household names such as Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, and Rosie O’Donnell are also being considered to replace Morgan.
Meanwhile, Piers has been taking it upon himself to go out guns blazing, starting up a Twitter feud this past weekend with BBC 2 presenter Jeremy Clarkson, which only adds more fuel to the fiery hatred people tend to feel towards Morgan. The two rivals have continued their bitter online boxing match with a poorly timed tweet by Clarkson yesterday that unintentionally offended several people after the news about Malaysian flight 370 broke while he was travelling. Morgan took the opportunity to retweet Clarkson’s photo.
@piersmorgan If you don't shut up, I shall start to reveal details of your past life that would make you VERY unhappy.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) March 24, 2014
One could argue that an online feud such as this one serves as confirmation that CNN president Jeff Zucker made the right call when he cancelled Piers Morgan Live. Will you be tuning in on Friday to see what Piers has up his sleeve for his final show? Will he exit with professionalism or continue the notorious Piers Morgan legacy for offending as many people he can?
[Image via Google]
