Piers Morgan thinks Larry King was "one of the all-time TV greats".
Piers Morgan
The 55-year-old TV star replaced the iconic broadcaster on CNN in 2010, and has reiterated his admiration for King - who passed away at the age of 87 - amid accusations he was disrespectful in the immediate aftermath of his death.
Piers' initial tweet read: "Larry King was a hero of mine until we fell out after I replaced him at CNN & he said my show was ‘like watching your mother-in-law go over a cliff in your new Bentley.’ (He married 8 times so a mother-in-law expert) But he was a brilliant broadcaster & masterful TV interviewer. (sic)"
Piers - whose show was axed by CNN in 2014 due to poor ratings - was subsequently accused of being insensitive.
The outspoken presenter admitted to having a turbulent relationship with King, but acknowledged that he was one of his "heroes".
He wrote: "Larry hated me replacing him at CNN and never made any secret of it, which I found very sad because he was one of my heroes - but I still think he was a superb broadcaster & one of the all-time TV greats. (sic)"
Piers also thinks Larry would've been amused by the reaction to his initial tweet.
He said: "Larry loved that mother-in-law joke, and he would have found the hysterical reaction to my tribute ridiculous."
Piers then claimed that the coronavirus pandemic has caused people to respond in an irrational way.
The TV presenter wrote: "Weird, isn't it?
"My theory is the pandemic's sent everyone nuts & if it helps them to scream irrational abuse at me, then I'm OK with that. (sic)"
King died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after being treated for COVID-19.
The TV legend also had Type-2 diabetes and had suffered from lung cancer, angina and heart attacks in recent years.
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