Çhat is going on The conversation? Just a day after CBS announced that its daytime panel was on a hiatus after a controversial exchange between presenters Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood went viral, Osbourne is now being accused by his former cohosts and anonymous sources of using racist and homophobic language with his colleagues and creating a “toxic environment” on the set.
The drama started on March 9, when Good morning Great Britain Twitter host and provocateur Piers Morgan made insensitive comments about Meghan Markle after his bombastic interview with Oprah Winfrey. After declaring on the ITV morning news that he “didn’t believe a word” that Markle said about his suicidal thoughts during his time as Duchess of Sussex, Morgan has generated thousands of complaints for the network and led to an investigation by the UK communications regulator, Ofcom, before he finally gave up on the program. The next day in The conversation, Osbourne defended Morgan, who she describes as her friend, but was pressured by fellow co-hosts Underwood and Elaine Welteroth, both black women, about why she would support anyone who made racist comments.
The conversation took a hostile turn when Osbourne was visibly upset, claiming that he felt like he was being placed in an “electric chair” and vehemently demanding that Underwood “teach” her about how racist Morgan’s comments were. When Underwood started to cry when trying to explain the racist tones in Morgan’s comments, Osbourne scolded her for crying, saying “if anyone should cry, it should be me”.
As you can imagine in the year 2021, this clip did not go well, especially with black people, on Twitter. While some users applauded Underwood, for keeping her cool during the heated conversation, many expressed their anger at Osbourne’s aggressive pranks and questioned why black women should maintain their composure in the face of mistreatment by whites in the workplace.
Since the video’s circulation, the swing between Osbourne, his lawyer, his former colleagues, CBS and his online critics has been almost uninterrupted. On Friday, the same day, Osbourne issued an extensive excuse on Twitter, actress Holly Robinson Peete, who co-hosted The conversation in its first season, tweeted that Osbourne allegedly complained that she was a “ghetto” and hinted that she was involved in leaving the show. Twitter users were quick to find one tweet the former co-presenter of The conversation Leah Remini in 2012, in which the actress mentions Osbourne using the racialized term to describe her and Robinson Peete. Users also pointed to a video clip of Osbourne in 2018 saying that Meghan Markle “is not black” because “she does not look black”.
The following day, in an exclusive interview with Variety, Osbourne vehemently denied having used the word “ghetto”, although a Twitter user posted a video of her wearing it on the show while talking to Remini. She also said that she felt “surprised” by The conversationduring the Piers Morgan segment, claiming that she didn’t know they were going to talk about him.
On Monday, CBS responded to the catastrophe that was unfolding quickly online with the announcement that they were conducting an “internal review” of the airborne incident between Osbourne and Underwood, and pausing the show until Wednesday. Yesterday, however, the network extended the program’s hiatus to next Tuesday, after journalist Yashar Ali published a story about his Substack revealing Osbourne’s alleged use of racist and homophobic language in relation to his former colleagues Julie Chen and Sara Gilbert. Along with other general accusations of bullying spanning decades from various sources, Remini claims in the article that Osbourne referred to Chen, who is Chinese-American, as “wonton” and “narrow eyes”, in addition to using ethnic slander against Italians. She also made claims, which were supported by my various anonymous sources, that Osbourne referred to Gilbert (The conversationcreator and executive producer, in addition to the ex-presenter), who is a lesbian, like “pussy lick” and “fish eater”.
“Remini claims in the article that Osbourne referred to Chen, who is Chinese-American, as “wonton” and “slanted eyes”, as well as … referred to Gilbert (creator and executive producer of ‘The Talk’s’ in addition to co-host), who is a lesbian, as “pussy lick” and “fish eater”.“
If this saga couldn’t get any more agitated, Osbourne sat down with Entertainment Tonight yesterday to relay your side of the story, but not before the most recent allegations have dropped. Responding exclusively to the Underwood incident, Osbourne expressed regret for rejecting Underwood’s feelings, while stating that his reaction came from a place of “pain” and “fear”.
“I wish we could have an adult conversation calmly and resolve this, but I don’t know if we can,” said Osbourne ET. “I don’t know if it’s past that. I would love to, but I don’t know if I want to go back … I don’t know if I’m wanted there. “
Throughout the frantic interview, Osbourne oscillates between expressing remorse and rationalizing his ignorance. It is a pity that, at this point, the television presenter still thinks it is more important to emphasize that she “is not racist” – as she did in her discussion with Underwood – than to admit that she committed an act of racial harm against a black man . Furthermore, the implication that she does not think an “adult conversation” with Underwood is possible, although her co-host has shown nothing but patience and calm in response to her histrionism, seems representative of the preconceived notions that whites tend to use. have on the temperaments of Black women. It seems that what Osbourne really means by “I don’t know if we can” have a conversation is that she doesn’t really want to.
Osbourne also mentions that his other co-host Black Elaine Welteroth (at the time) is open to having a conversation about the incident on the show, which is ultimately Welteroth’s prerogative. But it is unfortunate how often black people have to do this kind of emotional work, in addition to fulfilling the regular duties of their work.
Whether Osbourne and Underwood will be able to work together again seems irrelevant, as it is difficult to imagine the former – who seems more anxious to abandon the ship than deal with the repercussions of his behavior – redeeming himself in the public eye after the last set of allegations . Considering the recent increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans over the past year due to COVID-19, there is presumably more pressure than at any other time for CBS to simply sever ties with Osbourne based on its alleged comments only on Julie Chen . However, it should not be necessary for Osbourne to insult all races and sexes or for certain social issues to be in fashion for the chain to realize that the comfort of its employees is more important than a person’s job.
Whether Osbourne miraculously returns to the show or not, I doubt that this will be the last time we hear of her in this fiasco. As is the case with most powerful white people with troubled opinions, there will surely be another platform available for her to rage against “canceling culture” and “wokeness” if she wishes.