“The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home,” CBS commented on The Talk co-host, Sharon Osbourne’s exit.
Sharon Osbourne’s time on The Talk came to an end following her defense of Piers Morgan and her on-air meltdown.
Osbourne was allegedly emotional after Sheryl Underwood asked why she was defending Piers.
Sharon’s defensive and reactionary meltdown caused an internal review at CBS. Although denying it, Osbourne allegedly used racist and homophobic slurs while on set.
The events leading up to Osbourne leaving The Talk started on Tuesday, 9 March 2021, when she publicly defended Piers Morgan on Twitter.
Morgan has an ongoing feud with Meghan Markle, which Osbourne supported. The following day, Osbourne became defensive and was extremely rude when Underwood asked her why she would support Piers, given his “racist stance” on Markle.
Osbourne then took to Twitter on Friday, 12 March 2021, to apologise for her behavior on the show. On the same day, Holly Robinson Peete tweeted about her experience with Osbourne on The Talk.
Peete wrote, “I’m old enough to remember when Sharon complained that I was too ‘ghetto’ for [The Talk]… then I was gone.”
In response to Peete’s allegation, Osbourne claimed that it was an absolute lie and that she would never speak like that.
Sharon claimed, on 13 March 2021, that she was blindsided on The Talk and blamed CBS. She stated that she was always involved in the planning of the segments, but was not included in the segment where she allegedly became offensive.
Osbourne spoke to Entertainment Tonight on 16 March 2021, and claimed to be unsure of whether she would return to The Talk.
“I wish we could go on and have an adult conversation calmly and work it out, but I don’t know whether we can,” she said.
“I don’t know whether it’s gone past that. I would love to but I don’t know whether I even want to go back… I don’t know whether I’m wanted there.”
CBS confirmed on Friday, 26 March 2021, that Osbourne would be leaving the show. The network released a statement saying that Sharon was the one who made the choice to leave.
The Talk’s episode without Osbourne aired on 12 April 2021, and Sheryl kicked off the episode alone.
According to the New York Post, Osbourne allegedly walked away from the show with a payout of between $5 million and $10 million.
