Former CNN host Piers Morgan is firing back against claims he abused staff members of his recently cancelled talk show.
The veteran British journalist has taken to Twitter to respond to an article in Tuesday's New York Daily News suggesting he was dismissive and disrespectful to staffers working on Piers Morgan Live.
The Daily News article quotes a source saying, "The makeup girls suffered the worst – he was rude and belligerent …"
Another unidentified source in the Daily News article claims, "The general feeling is Morgan didn't show any respect to anyone working under him – the people who were trying to make him look good."
Morgan's bristling Twitter response: "Hi @NYDailyNews – found any CNN make-up artists I was ever rude to yet? Or you going to admit you just invented that garbage?"
In a followup tweet, Morgan said, "Sorry, don't mind all the crap swirling around my CNN show ending, but abusing make-up artists? NEVER. Just pisses me off to read that."
Last weekend, a CNN rep confirmed to E! News that the network would be pulling the plug on the consistently low-rated Piers Morgan Live, which launched in January, 2011 in the former Larry King Live time slot.
Although CNN has declined to say when the show would end its prime-time run, it's believed that the final episode of Piers Morgan Live will air some time next month.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Morgan said he and current CNN president Jeff Zucker had discussed the show's inability to connect to an audience.
Said Morgan: "It's been a painful period and lately we have taken a bath in the ratings."
In recent months, Piers Morgan Live had been generating an audience in the 360,000 viewer range, according to U.S. Nielsen ratings.
So far, CNN has given no indication on how they will fill the show's 9 p.m. ET time slot following Morgan's departure – but Larry King has already announced his availability.