Piers Morgan apologized for criticizing Ariana Grande. Morgan had slammed the singer for returning to the United States instead of staying in Manchester to visit the victims and their families after the attack at her May 22 concert.
The outspoken journalist, 52, changed his mind about the 23-year-old popstar after watching the One Love Manchester benefit concert on Sunday, June 4, that Grande put on to raise money for the families of the 22 people killed and dozens wounded.
“I thought Ariana Grande was wrong to fly off after #ManchesterAttack but tonight she’s putting on a fabulous show #OneLoveManchester,” Morgan tweeted on Sunday. “I misjudged you, @ArianaGrande & I apologise. You’re an admirable young woman & this is a magnificent night. Respect.”
He added in another tweet on Monday, June 5, “Emotions run high in periods like this. Last night’s concert showed me I had misjudged Ms Grande.”
The Good Morning Britain host took his apology a step further when he penned a lengthy open letter to the singer and explained his initial reaction. “I saw footage on TV of Her Majesty The Queen visiting the wounded in Manchester hospitals, and in my heightened state of indignant fury, I wondered where the hell you were?” he wrote in a column for The Daily Mail on Monday. “Well, I knew where you were: your high security mansion in Boca Raton. I just didn’t understand why you’d left it to a 91-year-old pensioner to check if your wounded fans were OK.”
He went on to commend Grande for returning to Manchester to host the charity concert and spend time with her fans. “You flew back to Manchester within two weeks of what must have been the worst day of your life. You went to the hospitals and sat with your wounded fans like Jaden. You joked with them, did endless selfies, sang a few songs and brought huge joy to so many shattered lives,” he continued. “You had also spent the past week planning a huge fund-raising concert, persuading many of your pop superstar friends like Niall Horan, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber to join you on stage back in the very city where the attack happened.”
He concluded by praising her unbreakable spirit. “I’m sorry I questioned your courage,” he wrote. “You’re one helluva gusty young lady.”
