Piers Morgan recently opened up about a heated altercation with Jeremy Clarkson that took place at the British Press Awards in 2004—an incident that left more than just a scar on his forehead and caused a stir within his family. The former Daily Mirror editor revealed that the scar was the result of Clarkson punching him during a tense dispute over Piers publishing photos of Clarkson with another woman, despite Jeremy’s wishes to keep them private.
Morgan described the unfolding drama, telling Best magazine that after Clarkson struck him multiple times, he made a defiant remark: “My three-year-old hits me harder than that.” The jab reportedly provoked Clarkson to punch him a third time, breaking his own little finger in the process—a finger Morgan says remains “disfigured and mashed up” to this day.
Despite being struck repeatedly, Piers chose not to retaliate, a decision that left his brother, an army colonel, furious. Morgan explained, “It was a bit like Colin Firth and Hugh Grant in the fountain scene in Bridget Jones’ Diary—two drunk men slapping each other. I didn’t hit him back because I was sober.” His brother reportedly was “absolutely enraged” at his restraint, urging him to fight back. Ironically, Morgan was fired three weeks after the incident anyway.
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Years later, the once-feuding pair appear to have reconciled after a decade of exchanging verbal barbs. Jeremy Clarkson even recounted the event in his own words in 2022, admitting, “I punched him. And then I punched him again,” before lamenting the injury to his finger from the encounter.
The episode is a vivid reminder of the combustible dynamic between these two media personalities, who continue to generate headlines, albeit sometimes with less physicality today. Most recently, Piers faced criticism for using explicit language during a live broadcast of This Morning, quickly apologizing for the slip. Despite the controversy, the spotlight remains firmly fixed on Piers Morgan’s headline-grabbing career.