Piers Morgan has been forced to issue a statement on his Jake Paul comments following a threat of legal action.
The outspoken TV personality previously posted on his official X account that that the boxer’s career to date has been ‘boring, staged bullsh*t’ prompting a furious response from Paul.
The 28-year-old retained powerhouse sports lawyer Alex Spiro, who has previously represented Jay-Z and Elon Musk, to address and counteract what they say are false and damaging claims, as per the Daily Mail.
The decision to retain Spiro saw Morgan scrambling to apologise to Paul and clarify his comments in a bid to avoid legal action being taken against the Brit.
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On Saturday, Morgan posted a lengthy, and rare, apology to Paul to his 8.9m X followers as he backtracked on his previous comments.
“I posted a few weeks ago that Jake Paul’s boxing career has been ‘boring staged bullsh*t.’”, Morgan started.
“What I meant is that his fights have been predominantly against older, past-their-prime opponents, which may be lucrative for both sides, and may have entertainment value, but don’t reveal how he stacks up against currently ranked boxers and therefore are not a good look for the sport.
“I did not intend to suggest that the outcome was predetermined and certainly didn’t mean to suggest anything illegal. But if reports are correct that Jake is now in negotiations to fight Anthony Joshua, that would obviously be a seriously credible bout against one of the best heavyweights in the world.
“Jake is welcome to come on Uncensored to discuss this, and verbally slug it out with me, anytime.”
Who is sports lawyer Alex Spiro?
Spiro, who reportedly charges an eyewatering $3000 per hour for his services, has previously defended the reputation of the likes of Jay-Z, Musk, and Naomi Osaka.
“I've been retained by Mr. Paul to pursue legal redress for the damages he has suffered,” Spiro said in a statement.
“If someone uses their public soapbox to harm him and the sport with lies, there will be consequences.”
The legal powerhouse famously defended Hollywood star Alec Baldwin following the fatal ‘Rust’ shooting in 2021 having found that the prosecution team had withheld evidence, resulting in the dismissal of involuntary manslaughter charges against the ‘Mission Impossible’ and ‘30 Rock’ star.
Paul, though, saw the funny side of Morgan’s apology, posting: “Omg the first peasant that I sue gets on his knees and apologizes. Who am I suing next for lying on my name?”
Morgan isn’t the first media figure or celebrity to suggest that Paul’s fights are ‘rigged’ or ‘staged’, with the YouTuber-turned-professional boxer’s manager coming to a staunch defence of his client.
Paul tipped to fight British boxing icon
“When you definitively state that Jake is putting on staged or rigged fights, that's just defamation, and you're causing substantial damage to his business, to MVP's business, and something that's 100 per cent not true,” Paul’s manager and MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said of the accusations said recently on The Ariel Helwani Show.
Paul and his team are now in talks about a potential fight with British boxer Anthony Joshua, as confirmed by industry heavyweight Eddie Hearn.
“This bizarre world that we live in, I think Jake Paul is absolutely the front-runner to fight Anthony Joshua next,” Hearn told Sky Sports News last week.
Ben McAleer