Image Credit: John Shearer/WireImage.comOprah Winfrey. George Clooney. Howard Stern. Kid Rock. The Kardashian sisters. These are some of the big-name guests that will appear on the first two weeks of Piers Morgan’s new CNN interview show (debuting tonight at 9 p.m.). As you may have heard, though, the outspoken British judge from America’s Got Talent who’s replacing Larry King has already barred one A-lister — Madonna — from gracing Piers Morgan Tonight. (During an interview for our “Stupid Questions” column, which appears in this week’s issue of EW, he quipped that he will lift the ban only if she makes a “formal apology” for “all the grief she’s caused me by being Madonna.”) Who else would he say is on his blacklist? His answers may surprise you.
• Heather Mills. “I introduced her to Paul McCartney. Fact. At the 1999 Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, I brought them both to the event. Paul sat next to me, asked me all about her. I said, ‘I think you’d get on brilliantly; she’s a vegetarian, she’s very attractive, intelligent.’ Next thing, Paul takes her out on a date, next thing they get engaged, next thing they get married, it’s all very happy and hunky-dory and then she takes him to the cleaners, and I realized I’d pushed one of the world’s great gold diggers in the direction of one of my heroes. And as Paul puts it to his close friends, ‘Thanks, Piers, you cost me 50 million dollars.’ So, for those reasons and by way of any tiny reparation I can make to Macca, she has a lifetime ban.”
• Keith Olbermann. “Just because it would really annoy him. I think he’s a great broadcaster, but I know he gets wound up very easily. It’s not a lifetime ban, it’s a temporary ban, designed to confuse and bemuse him, and hopefully engender a violent reaction.”
• Cherie Blair. “I quite like Tony Blair, I always got on very well with him. When I was doing my book after I left newspapers, I had 56 one-on-one meetings with Tony Blair when he was British prime minister, so we were very close. Every single meeting I had with his wife ended in disaster. It was just one of those terrible clashes of personalities. I think we’d have to ban Cherie simply because it would get violent. She would attack me.”
• Howie Mandel. “He’s just too irritating. He winds me up every day on America’s Got Talent and he would love to be on a show like mine on CNN, but he’s going to be banned at the moment. It’s behavior-related, so he has a chance to redeem himself on season 6 of AGT, but I don’t hold out any hope.”
What do you think of Morgan’s list, PopWatchers? Is there anyone else that he should declare persona non grata? (I’m just thankful that he didn’t mention his Celebrity Apprentice nemesis Omarosa, because that could make for a dangerous/delightful hour of TV.)
This guy is a joke. Who says that Madonna would even want to be on his show (I am not a fan of hers, either, but he clearly said this just to get attention). On Celebrity Apprentice, he showed himself to be a petty little man. I have absolutely no interest in seeing him interview anybody. Larry had no clue who he was talking to, but at least he was friendly. This guy is just nasty.
Finally someone who is not afraid to call this skank out for the no talent she is.Just an older Britney.Can’t sing,dance or do much other than love herself.Why is’nt OPRAH on that list.Greed and gluttony at it’s worst.
Without Madonna there would be no Britney.
i can`t sing and dance but i wish i could make 408million dollars with 85 shows with the sticky and sweet tour.i don`t know anyone that can do this expect Madonna!Madonna sellout Stadiums,has won grammies,etc.people that trash her are just envious!btw Morgan who???
yeah, what a nobody that madonna…
Who gives a crap? He’s a nobody.
Dana…yes…that’s a great point…no Madonna=no Britney. Now that would be nice.
you say that as if it’s a bad thing…
You can add Martha Stewart, who’s greedy, mean and self absorbed.
If you don’t like her, fine. But to say she has no talent is just silly and makes you look like you no nothing about music.
I think that gives Britney too much credit. Madonna’s brilliance was always in her ability to market herself effectively and keep herself in the limelight. If it was only about talent/singing ability Cindy Lauper would have been the big sensation. It was about sensationalism and masterful manipulation of the media like had never been seen before. With her as a model, decades later, the tactics seem commonplace.
mr paul you’re an idiot? Calling Oprah greedy? Is that the only adjective you could find? Oprah doesn’t need to be greedy for anything, cause she’s got everything. And she’s classy, intelligent, and compassionate. And why hate so on Madonna? She’s talented and worked hard to get where she is today. You need to grow up. You’re like a pouting child.
He is doing what he is supposed to do: draw attention to his show.
He is also tongue-in-cheek with his “banned” list.
Relax.
@Frankie: That’s exactly what I was thinking. Everybody chill out and stop taking this so seriously.
Well, the Heather Mills ban is probably pretty serious. But I think your right, the rest seem pretty tongue-in-cheek.
As we ponder the rantings of a britsh senior citizen needing his ego stroked, and passionately defend celebrities who have no idea we even exist. thousands of people in the Republic of Congo Africa have been slaughtered in a war ove mining operations used to mine the mineral needed to make our cellphones vibrate. A phone feature that less then 5% of North Americans even use. Madonnas a big girl, I’m sure she’ll get over it. and before we all jump on the Oprah is a saint bus keep in mind that she is being sued by principles in her african school for failure to pay them and other human rights violations. Put downd the people magazines guys, and pick up a news paper…shallow and sad
Any chance of this arrogant poof banning himself? Not gonna be watching his show he is a boring Brit.
My thoughts exactly ruby.
Ditto.. the man is barely tolerable on a team of celebrity props. I can’t imagine listening to him prattle on for an hour.
I saw him in action on Celebrity Apprentice and he is nasty. I would never watch his new show.
I agree 100%. This guy is petty and full of himself. I give him 1 season and he will be out. He will become the story rather than his guests. Bring in Jimmy Fallon from late night obscurity.
This act screams “I’m so VOGUIN’ to have Madge on my show . . . Please, please!”
Madge: You can VOGUE on my back for publicity all you want Piers, but you’ll still be pleading for America’s attention instead of your homeland Britain!
This guy is an idiot. Can’t wait for his show to tank.
Ha me too
Agreed!
Hannity will destroy him!
barf
No one was advocating for all that.
Piers Morgana gives Brits a bad name. He’s a loser. Vive la Quebec!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s Vive LE Quebec! Buy a dictionary please.
“He will lift the ban only if she makes a ‘formal apology’ for ‘all the grief she’s caused me by being Madonna.’”
LMAO, I like Madonna, but that really made me laugh!
Yeah, that was awesome.
I will never forgive him for buzzing Prince Poppycock!
Piers is the last person I expected CNN to select for rpelacement of an icon. His ban of Madonna and others listed is pure insanity. Piers has shown his true colors on America’s Got Talent and the Apprentice. From what I have seen of him, he is self absorbed and only cares about his own self. Madonna should be celebrating she never has to be face to face with him.
Madge must be laughing her arse out >> the nerve of this wannabe TV megastar to vogue on Madonna’s back for publicity!
I can’t believe this guy, his show hasn’t started yet and he’s already acting like an incredibly successful tv personality who can pick and choose who get’s chosen to be on his show. Madonna is a great interview and she doesn’t need to be on his show anyway, she’ll be fine but he needs to grow up and realize there are many people out there he may not like but other people would still like to see them being interviewed. If he’s okay with interviewing the Kardashians and Kid Rock , I think that shows what kind of standards he has and they seem to be incredibly low.
I like him, kind of! But, couldn’t they find an American journalist or whatever! This is CNN not BBCA.
This person is not even a journalist. He used to work for the News of the World, which is one of the UK’s most notorious tabloids who have been sued and lost for lying. I realize that tabloid stories sell in the US, and that these stories are becoming common in the legitimate press, but to have CNN go down this tacky road to keep up is sad.
Yeah, wasn’t News of the World the paper that recently ran the story of Megan Fox actually being a man? It’s easy to break news stories when you make them up. They make the National Enquirer look pretty reputable.
Madonna is known to say controversial stuff in interviews. I don’t like her interviews on TV anyway. I’d rather hear her music instead. Heather Mills I can’t STAND! And if he had Howie Mandel, I would want Piers to ask why he would walk away from Deal or No Deal on NBC and why it didn’t have its 5th season on the network last season. I wonder if Howie feels hurt about that now that Guy Fieri’s Minute to Win it is so popular on NBC when his
(Howie’s) former game show should have been.
Its stupid for him to ban someone for a mental illness (germaphobia) that Howie bravely battles with every day he leaves his home. To say it is irritating, and that Howie has to stop it in order to get on his show is so uneducated.
If one is aware he has a mental illness, than he understands how ridiculous he must appear to others. In Howie’s case, he has milked his “germaphobia” only to the extent that it would raise his TVQ. Bravely battles? BS. Uses to self-promote at every chance? YES.
Tony, do you know he has a separate house that he has to live in on his property sometimes because the germ fears from his own children prevent him from being with them? He was a prisoner of the mind for years, out of the spotlight, just trying to make it through the day. He has rules that he has to let everyone know so that he can be in the public eye. Some people TRY to break those rules just to freak him out, and Peirs is one of them. Its like picking on the little guy. That is not a shtick to make more money.
Wow Tony. Way too show compassion.
It’s not, “germaphobia”- it’s OCD, and it’s real. Maybe if people would begin to gain a better understanding of (and compassion for)mental illness, our country would be a kinder and safer place.
Where in the statement does Piers say the ban on Howie is related to his OCD? Maybe Howie has displayed other irritating behavior that Piers finds trying? You all seem to be jumping to conclusions.
Good grief, once you invite the Kardashian sisters — famous merely for having big fake breasts or for being sister to someone with big fake breasts — you can’t really claim to have any real standards for inanity.
Not famous for having big fake breasts, Red. Famous for a sex tape with a marginal pop star. Let’s get the facts straight.
And for having a big butt. Don’t forget that.
Not a marginal pop star, the brother of a marginal pop star.
I agree Red. Haven’t the slightest idea why anyone would tune in to hear what those hollow women have to say. I wish he would also ban George Clooney. His smugness is just as irritating as Howie Mandel’s behavior.
Well said! Seriously, between those ads where he’s referring to his show as being “slightly dangerous” and his inane list of banned guests, this show has the makings of an embarassing distaster for all involved. Maybe he’s just kidding us, delivering the kind of British sarcasm that he claims Americans just aren’t clever enough to grasp. I’d glaldy settle for that over the idea that CNN gave away Larry King’s slot to a self-aggrandizing buffoon with stars in his eyes. Here’s hoping that Piers brings out Madonna at the end of tonight’s debut show to prove that he was having a bit of fun with us. That he’s actually not the colossal douche he’s made us believe him to be.
He doesn’t have to ban me. The last thing I would want to do is participate in what will likely become the worst decision CNN programming folks have made in this past year of terrible programming decisions. He has become the face of offensive celebrity.
With all the buzz on Piers’ new show, I wonder why CNN didn’t continue to run reruns of Larry King Live until Jan 14th. They stopped on Dec 31st or Jan 7th, then they ran Anderson Cooper’s show the next week in that 9 pm slot. I wanted them to show Larry’s final show for those who missed it. Or his final 20 shows before wrapping it up. I never got to see it. Not fair to Larry even if they’re hyping Piers’ show ad nauseum.
id suggest banning tom cruise, cameron diaz, obama, and the entire cast of a-team for bad acting
can’t they find an AMERICAN to work in America?
Agreed.
Everyone has to be British on television nowadays.
And Americans aren’t allowed to work as easily in the U.K.
Where did you get that idea?
Americans don’t know how to be unbiased so news networks get their talent elsewhere.
Good lord, do you people have no sense of humor?
agree! hahaha howie mandel is too irritating?? so true and so glad he said it
I think we are all fully aware that Piers Morgan is a joke…
No kidding! I don’t feel one way or another about Morgan, but I thought his rationale for who he will banish is pretty funny. I’d banish those people too.
Okay then. Me thinks he should master the ratings before he starts banning people. He ain’t no Larry King yet.
Correct! Morgan is afraid of Madge.
There will never be another Larry King. Cheers and boo’s already commenced a while ago.
Perhaps Piers should do the apologizing for his past (CA and AGT) before we consider watching his show.
Piers is probably afraid Madge would be classier and more intelligent than he professes to be, British as he is.