Sharon Osbourne, long the “kids with a big voice” on “The Talk”, does not know if she will be back after the network finishes its investigation into the racially motivated dispute last week over her defense of Piers Morgan.
The production hiatus on the CBS chat show’s roundtable, which was put on a two-day break after Osbourne and co-host Sheryl Underwood became entangled last Wednesday, was extended for a week on Tuesday -market.
Osbourne, 68, told Entertainment Tonight that same day that she felt she had been created by CBS executives. She referred to a pact the speakers allegedly made in February, after Carrie Ann Inaba caught co-host Elaine Welteroth off guard with a question she had received from producers.
Inaba, who is Asian-American, asked Welteroth, who is black, what Osbourne called a “very naive” question about why whites couldn’t use the word with N. After Welteroth and Inaba started to cry, he said Osbourne, everyone agreed that, moving forward, they would not be blind to each other with surprise questions.
Last Wednesday, Osbourne said, a producer asked her if she “would clear up the Piers issue again”, even though “maybe one of them doesn’t agree with you.” But she did not expect Welteroth to bring anti-racism and she did not expect Underwood to imply that she was covering racism.
“I was a set-up,” Osbourne told “ET”, describing his thoughts at the time. “And I thought, how dare you do this to me? I am your sacrificial lamb. “
Osbourne admitted that she “tried” on 11-year-old friend Underwood, even when she told Underwood “don’t try to cry”, reserving that right for herself.
(Richard Shotwell / Associated Press)
“I became very personal with Sheryl. I should never have said [anything] about your tears. I should never have dismissed your feelings on national TV. Ever. But I said, I have to admit, ”she said.
Then he added fiercely, “I was so angry. I can’t start telling you. ”But not with Welteroth or Underwood. His anger was directed at CBS, his 11-year-old network.
“I think CBS was very horrified by Piers for the things he was saying – because remember, Harry and Meghan, it’s a CBS interview,” she said, referring to the comments of her former co-worker “America’s Got Talent ”That ex-Meghan Markle was lying about her mental health and suicidal thoughts.
Morgan, who was promptly accused of racism for his responses to Meghan and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, left “Good Morning Britain”, the TV show he co-hosted, after abruptly leaving the set last week.
Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, reported on Wednesday that it received a record 57,121 complaints, including one from the Duchess of Sussex herself, related to her “Good Morning Britain” comments about Meghan and Harry’s conversation with Winfrey. (“Only 57,000? More people showed up and congratulated me on the street for what I said,” said Morgan in a mocking tweet on Wednesday.)
Winfrey’s interview aired in the United Kingdom on March 8, the day after it was broadcast in the United States and garnered a high audience.
“I was on Piers’ side, so it’s the culture of cancellation, isn’t it? Throw it under the bus, ”said Osbourne.
The speaker said the two showrunners on “The Talk” were crying after the confrontation, but declined to tell her the names of the executives they said had pushed the interrogation.
Underwood, who started his question by saying that Osbourne had always been open to corrections and willing to learn, asked his co-host what she would say to people who thought she was providing a safe haven for racist comments.
Osbourne responded by asking Underwood to tell him what Morgan had said about racism, and the conversation spun quickly and emotionally from there.
“I feel like I’m about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend that many people think is racist, so that makes me a racist,” said Osbourne in “The Talk”. “And for me, at 68, having to turn around and say, ‘I’m not a racist’. … How can I be racist about someone or something in my life? How can I?”
Osbourne explained on Tuesday to “ET”: “I just felt like this is the biggest setup ever, and I’m falling for it, and I’m going deeper into this hole.”
After the unpleasant episode, more accusations arose – from ex-cohosts of “Talk” Holly Robinson Peete and Leah Remini, which lasted only one season – that Osbourne used slander against them and others during his time on the show. Osbourne denied Peete’s claim that she got the two fired from the show for being too “ghetto”.
Osbourne told “ET” that he demanded an investigation into who proposed Underwood’s question and why it was “left out” on national TV.
CBS said in a statement on Tuesday that it was “committed to a diverse, inclusive and respectful work environment in all of our productions. We are also very attentive to the important concerns expressed and the discussions that are taking place about the events on ‘The Talk’. This includes a process where all voices are heard, complaints are investigated and appropriate actions are taken when necessary. “
Osbourne said she apologized to Underwood, but got no response. Her too publicly apologized last week on social media, noting that she was really sorry “for any person of color that I offended and / or for anyone who feels confused or disappointed by what I said.”
As for the future of “The Talk,” said Osbourne, “I wish we could continue and have an adult conversation calmly and resolve it. But I don’t know if we can. I don’t know if it’s past that. But I don’t know if I want to go back.
“I don’t know if I’m wanted there.”