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Sally Morgan (psychic)

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Sally Morgan (born Sally Mary West on 20 September 1951; also known by her stage name Psychic Sally)[1] is a British television and stage artist, author and controversially, a self-proclaimed psychic medium.

Sally Morgan
Born
Sally Mary West

(1951-09-20) 20 September 1951 (age 73)
Fulham, London, England
Other namesPsychic Sally
Occupation(s)TV personality, medium, author
Websitehttp://www.sallymorgan.tv

Career

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Morgan claims to have had her first psychic experience at the age of nine months and has said she saw her first spirit when she was aged four.[2] In her early 20s, Sally would do ‘readings’ for her friends at parties as party-tricks.[3] She lived with her supposed ability for nearly 25 years, before leaving her career as a dental nurse[4] to become a professional medium.[2]

Morgan has appeared in various television shows, starting with the ITV2 programme Sally Morgan: Star Psychic in 2007, which showcased her attempts to seemingly connect audiences with the spirits and ghosts of their loved ones. Subsequent programmes included the Sky Bio channel programmes The Psychic Life of Sally Morgan and Psychic Sally: On the Road,[5] together with Sky Living's Psychic Sally's Big Fat Operation. Following the notoriety of her first television show, Morgan embarked upon the first of numerous, nationwide theatre tours.[6]

In September 2011, during a show in Dublin, Ireland, an audience member had claimed that she overheard a man relaying information to Morgan from the control room at the rear of the theatre.[7] The woman later called in to the Irish, National, radio network RTÉ to report the situation. On her website, Morgan responded to The Guardian's report by denying the involvement of all Grand Canal Theatre employees and stating that her head microphone was a one-way device.[8] Morgan also went on to sue the Daily Mail for libel due to an article they published, that in her words "Was completely false and defamatory".[9] The Daily Mail later published an apology and paid £125,000 in libel damages after accepting that the earpiece claim was "untrue".[10][11] At around this time, The Merseyside Skeptics Society and science writer Simon Singh requested a "test" of Morgan's psychic abilities. However, Morgan declined to participate.[12][13]

At a public show on 23 February 2012 Morgan gave a reading to two members of the audience, Drew McAdam and his wife Elizabeth. The reading described a man called Toby who had died in an explosion. However, prior to the show, Drew and his wife say they fed Morgan this information by emailing her website and leaving notes in a box provided in the foyer for so-called "love-letters". McAdam's description of the death of "Toby" was taken from a fictional character who died in an explosion in the 1970s BBC drama, Doomwatch.[14]

Morgan performed a psychic reading for Big Brother winner Brian Dowling on ITV2 in 2007. Asked on camera whether she knew him, she said "well, I know of him".[15] She had actually given a similar reading for him in 2005.[16] She later claimed that her original response was made "because the director told me to".[17]

In March 2014, Morgan became embarrassed during a performance after contacting the spirit of a woman who was still alive in the audience. The woman had mistakenly given Morgan a photo of herself instead of a photo of a dead loved one. Morgan then proceeded to contact and communicate with the spirit of the woman, and when the truth became known, the audience erupted in laughter and Morgan was unable to recover the performance.[18]

On 16 August 2018, Morgan entered the Celebrity Big Brother House, where she finished in 5th place.[19]

In mid-2021, Morgan took a brief hiatus after losing her husband of 46 years, John Morgan (aged 74), to Coronavirus. Morgan stated: “The support I have been receiving both online and, on the road, has kept me buoyant and allowed me to keep going in such a tough time.”[20][21]

Criticism

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Morgan has been criticised on multiple occasions for claiming she has psychic abilities, and has been accused of being a fraud.[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]

Members of the public called a radio station claiming to have heard Morgan appearing to repeat back information that they said moments earlier they had overheard coming from the theatre lighting box during one of Morgan's shows at The Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin. Citing "substantial damage to her reputation, as well as hurt, distress and embarrassment", Morgan sued Associated Newspapers for £150,000 over magician Paul Zenon's 22 September 2011 article in the Daily Mail about these public claims.[31] JREF President, D.J. Grothe, writing for The Huffington Post questioned why Morgan would sue for £150,000 when she could prove her ability by winning JREF's "Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge". "It makes one wonder if even Sally Morgan believes that Sally Morgan's powers are real."[32]

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In October 2014, Morgan had used legal threats, while her husband and son-in-law had used homophobic slurs and verbal intimidation, in a confrontation with sceptical activist Mark Tilbrook. Tilbrook had been in the vicinity of many stage psychic shows handing out leaflets entitled "Look After Yourself", advising audience members of clues that might distinguish between a person with genuine supernatural powers and someone who "just appears to have them".[33][34] Morgan fired her husband and son-in-law from her management team a week later, after video footage of the incident emerged.[34]

In summer 2018, Sally Morgan Enterprises went into voluntary liquidation following an £2.9m Accelerated Payment Notice claim by HMRC.[35]

Bibliography

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  • Medium at Large CICO Books (2006) ISBN 978-1904991366
  • My Psychic Life Penguin (2009) ISBN 978-0141038490
  • Healing Spirits: How the Other Side can help your grieving heart Penguin (2009) ISBN 978-0141043548
  • Life After Death: Messages of Love from the Other Side Penguin (2011) ASIN B004S25O66

References

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  1. ^ McGrath, Nick. "Sally Morgan: I couldn't believe it when I made £1.5m".
  2. ^ a b "Sally Morgan: I've got a psychic gift - it's my duty to help you". Sunday Mirror / mirror.co.uk. MGN Limited. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  3. ^ O'Boyle, Claire (21 September 2018). "Psychic to the stars Sally Morgan is coming to the Ulster Hall". BelfastLive. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  4. ^ O'Boyle, Claire (21 September 2018). "Psychic to the stars Sally Morgan is coming to the Ulster Hall". BelfastLive. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Sally Morgan: Star Psychic". Tiscali.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  6. ^ "Sally Morgan | Wyvern Theatre, Swindon". swindontheatres.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Is 'Psychic Sally' a fraud -- or the victim of a witchhunt?". independent. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Official statement in regards to The Guardian". Sally Morgan. 11 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  9. ^ Josh Halliday (20 June 2013). "Daily Mail to pay £125,000 libel damages over TV psychic 'scam' claim | Media". London: theguardian.com. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Daily Mail to pay £125,000 libel damages over TV psychic 'scam' claim". the Guardian. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Has Sally Morgan – Britain's best-loved psychic – ever read for you? | Simon Singh". the Guardian. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Sally Morgan rejects Halloween challenge to prove her psychic powers". the Guardian. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  13. ^ Echo, Liverpool (28 October 2011). "TV psychic Sally Morgan's powers to be tested in Liverpool". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  14. ^ Singh, Simon (6 March 2012). "Has Sally Morgan – Britain's best-loved psychic – ever read for you?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  15. ^ "Brian Dowling appearance Sally Morgan Star Psychic". ITV2. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  16. ^ "Welcome to Psychic Sally's February 2005 E-newsletter". Sally Morgan. February 2005. Archived from the original on 11 February 2005. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  17. ^ Robert Chalmers (28 September 2008). "Sally Morgan: I am not mad, I am not unhinged... I talk to dead people". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  18. ^ Jeremy Armstrong (26 May 2014). "Celeb psychic Sally Morgan embarrassed after 'contacting' spirit of woman sitting ALIVE in audience". The Mirror. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  19. ^ "Celebrity Big Brother 2018: Who's in the house?". BBC News. 17 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  20. ^ "Psychic Sally Morgan's husband John dies aged 74 following coronavirus battle". 28 September 2021.
  21. ^ Kent, Sara-Aisha (28 September 2021). "Husband of celebrity psychic Sally Morgan dies after Covid battle". mirror. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  22. ^ Hill, Rose (10 September 2018). "Psychic Sally slammed for 'insensitive' prediction about Princess Diana's death". Irish Mirror.
  23. ^ "Sally Morgan, the supposed psychic who never saw what was about to happen • Skeptical Science". Skeptical Science. 15 October 2014.
  24. ^ "Psychic Sally accused of using hidden helpers". www.telegraph.co.uk.
  25. ^ Anisiobi, J. J. (24 August 2018). "Celebrity Big Brother fans brand psychic Sally Morgan 'fraud' as Natalie Nunn is evicted". OK! Magazine.
  26. ^ O'Sullivan, Kyle (23 August 2018). "Celebrity Big Brother's Rodrigo reveals cockroach milk diet". mirror.
  27. ^ "Sally Morgan « The Merseyside Skeptics Society".
  28. ^ "Should people trust in psychics?". BBC News.
  29. ^ "Why won't psychic Sally Morgan accept our invitation to test her powers? | Chris French". The Guardian. 22 October 2012.
  30. ^ "The psychic, a dead cyclist and an act of 'betrayal'". The Independent. 11 October 2014.
  31. ^ Limbrick, Sarah (4 February 2012). "TV Psychic Sally Morgan Sues Daily Mail for Defamation". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  32. ^ Grothe, D.J. (3 February 2012). ""Psychic" Sally Morgan Sues Critics for £150,000 After Refusing $1 Million to Prove Her Powers". Huff Post. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  33. ^ Mark Tilbrook (7 October 2014). "Our campaign goes on, despite threats from psychic Sally Morgan's team". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  34. ^ a b "Celebrity psychic Sally Morgan fires husband for threatening sceptic". The Guardian. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  35. ^ Badenhorst, Francois (2 August 2018). "Psychic Sally didn't see her £2.9m APN coming". AccountingWEB. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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