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Andrew Morton

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Author

The Resume

    (1953- )
    Born in Dewsbury, United Kingdom
    British journalist and biographer
    Birth name is Andrew David Morton
    Served as a Royal Correspondent for the London tabloid newspaper, 'The Daily Star,' in the 1980s
    Also worked for London tabloids 'News of the World' and 'The Daily Mail,' until 1987
    Publications included 'Inside Kensington Palace' (1987), 'Theirs Is The Kingdom : The Wealth of The British Royal Family' (1989), 'Duchess: An Intimate Portrait of Sarah, Duchess of York' (1989), 'Diana's Diary' (1990), and 'Inside Buckingham Palace' (1991)
    Came to national attention with the scandalous publication of the tell-all book, 'Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words,' which sold over 5 million copies (1992)
    Later works include 'Moi: Making of an African Statesman' (1998), 'Monica's Story' (1999), 'Posh & Becks' (2000), 'Madonna' (2001), 'Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography' (2008), 'Angelina: An Unauthorized Biography' (2010), and 'William & Catherine: Their Story' (2011)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a member of Princess Diana's 'Royal Rat Pack' of globetrotting journalists.
    His 'Intimate Biography' of Madonna failed to gain any traction, if anything getting upstaged by J. Randy Taraborrelli's own 'Intimate Madonna Story' book.
    He tried to hone in on the Clinton-Lewinsky sex scandal by publishing 'Monica's Story.'
    At least two of his biographies have been unauthorized and contain hotly contested assertions (resulting in his reverting to publishing and rehashing books about Diana to keep his head above water).
    His publication of 'Diana: Her True Story' is credited with being the last straw in the crumbling marriage of Charles and Diana, causing an unprecedented level of scandal culminating in divorce.
    He didn't believe Diana's insistence about her husband's infidelity until she produced Parker-Bowles' love letters to Prince Charles, offering them as proof.
    He had to cough up £45,700 in damages after losing a libel case filed against him by a Kenyan judge over his penning a biography of Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi.
    His Tom Cruise biography was widely panned, receiving a C- grade from Entertainment Weekly.
    The Church of Scientology specifically denounced the book as 'a bigoted, defamatory assault replete with lies' (he allegedly compared them to Nazi storm troopers, Stalinists, fascists, and the Roman Empire).
    Salon panned his Angelina Jolie biography as 'ill-informed,' 'moralistic,' 'just plain mean' and 'the worst book in the 21st century so far.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was the United Kingdom's own Matt Drudge even 'before Matt Drudge.'
    Princess Diana conveyed her sense of isolation and loneliness by confiding in him and delivering the message through him.
    He allegedly first came into contact with Princess Di after she straightened his tie on a vacation in Italy, causing him to turn bright red with embarrassment.
    His provincial Yorkshire-Leeds background/local college education was held against him to diminish his credibility.
    He was targeted by the Royal Family and British government when rumors of his 'Diana' book got out (his office was raided in a vain attempt to turn up any tapes of him interviewing Diana).
    He was on the receiving end of death threats, death wishes, and even veiled threats of being 'locked away in the Tower of London' for breaking the story and ruining the world's 'Fairy Tale.'
    He received probably the worst press directed at a journalist since Woodward and Bernstein when he revealed the truth about the friction in the Charles-Diana marriage.
    He agreed to keep Diana's involvement in the project a secret, only revealing the extent of her contributions until an appropriate amount of time after her death.
    He literally planned to take the secret of her involvement with him to his grave, making provisions in his will that the revelations be unveiled only after the two of them were dead (taking it for granted that she would outlive him, ironically).
    He criticized tabloid moguls like Rupert Murdoch and Piers Morgan for profiting from Diana's memory in the aftermath of her death, despite being complicit in the factors that led to her car crash.
    He responded to allegations that he was the pot calling the kettle black by saying 'I myself profit emotionally from evidence that Diana's last days were blissfully happy; I profit professionally if this article pleases my editor. We all have blood on our hands; the best of us feel guilty about it.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 9 Votes: 88.89% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 77 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying