Sharon Osbourne’s promise to “wait” for British TV personality Piers Morgan, after her longstanding criticism of Meghan Markle this week, received a warm welcome from her co-hosts on “The Talk”, as well as from many of the viewers of the program.
Osbourne on Wednesday responded to the racism charges she said she faced after supporting Morgan, whom she described as a longtime friend. The discussion came days after “Good Morning Britain” announced that Morgan had left the show after a series of segments in which he repeatedly criticized Meghan Markle and rejected his accusations of racist treatment by the British royal family.
“I feel like I’m about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend that many people think is racist, which makes me a racist,” proclaimed Osbourne in Wednesday’s episode. “How can I be racist about anyone or anything in my life?”
Take part of the segment below:
The conversation took an increasingly emotional turn when co-host Sheryl Underwood, who is Black, turned down Osbourne’s opinion.
“Don’t try to cry, because if someone should be crying, it should be me,” Osbourne told Underwood. “Educate me. Tell me when I’ve heard you say racist things! ”
Underwood then concluded: “It is not the exact words of racism, it is the implication and the reaction to it – not wanting to address it because [Meghan Markle] she is a black woman and trying to reject her or make her appear less than she is, that’s what makes her racist ”.
The conversation generated an explosive response on social media, with many angry at Osbourne’s approach.
“It is not the job of a black woman to educate ANYONE about racism”, actress Yvette Nicole Brown tweeted. “The education you are looking for is EVERYWHERE.” Added writer and comedian Rae Sanni: “White women are something else. Your tears are weapons. “
The controversial conversation came a day after Osbourne expressed his support for Morgan on Twitter.
“People forget that you get paid for your opinion and that you’re just telling the truth,” she tweeted.
A day later, Morgan returned the compliment.
“I love Sharon Osbourne because she always stays true to herself,” he tweeted. “She knew she would be abused by the watch brigade for tweeting this – but she did it anyway because that is what she believes.”
Morgan has a long history of making incendiary comments about Markle, both in the air and on social media.
The current reaction, however, stems from her rejection of the Duchess of Sussex’s claims – made in Sunday’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey – that she had thought of suicide during her time as a real worker.
Earlier this week, British media regulator Ofcom said it had received more than 41,000 complaints – including one from Markle herself – about Morgan’s accusation.
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