Piers Morgan complained to Larry King Wednesday about saying his show "may have been oversold" and wasn't "dangerous," but King stood by his comments about his replacement.
"Larry, look. I have spent the last few months saying following you is like following Frank Sinatra. I couldn't have paid you higher praise. You come in my backyard and say I'm oversold, undangerous," Morgan said on "Piers Morgan Tonight."
"If you read the full quote, I said you were fine," King said, and asked if Morgan was being "facetious" when he said his show would be "dangerous": "Was that an attempt at British humor?"
Morgan asked King how many of his shows he had seen.
"About eight," King said. "I haven't seen you dangerous yet."
Morgan said the show couldn't have undersold itself because it had to follow King — which he again likened to following Sinatra.
In an interview with London's Radio 4 last week, King said generally positive things about King but criticized the show’s promotion.
"He was going to be dangerous. He was going to be water cooler talk. 'Wait 'til you see me, I’m different.’ He’s good. He’s not that dangerous,” King said. “Maybe it’s hard to just step into anything. But if there’s one thing, he may have been oversold.”
Far from playing down King's remarks, CNN linked to a story about them in its news release announcing Morgan would interview King.
King hosted "Larry King Live" for more than 25 years before leaving the air last year. Morgan debuted to double King's average ratings but has since fallen to roughly King's numbers.
Watch the exchange below:
