Realty TV Judge Piers Morgan
If you watched “America’s Got Talent” last year or are following the Celebrity Apprentice, you may find yourself wondering if all British judges are tough on contestants. After all, Piers Morgan has been the man behind many cutting remarks to performers. But this year, Piers has promised to try to be nicer to the contestants. Last year he made younger contestants cry on stage, either by criticizing their performance or as with the case of finalist L.D. Miller, suggesting that his act would be better if he got rid of his older brother.
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan was born in 1964 in East Sussex. He started his career as a journalist, having studied journalism at Harlow College. He was with Lloyd’s of London briefly before becoming a reporter for the South London Press. He later joined The Sun and became editor of the show biz column Bizarre. In 1994, at the young age of 28, he was made editor of the News of the World. Piers was known for being invasive and not caring about a celebrity’s personal cry for right to privacy. He left this position however after running a photo of the wife of Charles, Earl Spencer leaving a detoxification center. This was against the editor’s code of conduct and even his boss, Rupert Murdoch said he went too far in publishing the photo. It did not stop him however from being offered the editor job at the Daily Mirror. Piers often had run-ins with the British Royal family during his journalistic career. Under his helm, the Mirror published the letters between Princess Diana and James Hewitt. Piers left the Daily Mirror in 2004 when he chose to publish (what turned out to be fake) photos of Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army personnel.
He began his television career in Britain when he presented a BBC documentary about fame, celebrities, and how the media covers them. While Piers was a well-known personality in the UK, Americans did not take much notice until he appeared as a judge on “America’s Got Talent” in 2006. He also now appears on the English version of the show, “Britain’s Got Talent” along with co-judges Amanda Holden and Simon Cowell.
Although he promised to be nicer this season, Piers has already come under fire by both David Hasselhoff and Sharon Osbourne. Sharon stormed off the stage during the first episode after Piers berated a young contestant, telling her that her mother put her up to performing. David got angry at Piers during the second episode after Piers put an act through (Boy Shakira) that David found questionable.
Piers recognizes just how famous his judging job on “America’s Got Talent” has made him, stating that “In Hollywood, I’m a lot more famous than the Beckhams, And I definitely get better tables in smart restaurants than I used to because I’m more socially acceptable.”
Whether you love him or hate him, just like with Simon Cowell, you have to admit that having Piers as a judge rarely leads to a boring moment on “America’s Got Talent.”
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