Co-host Sharon Osbourne said she’s not sure if she can – or will be able to – return to “The Talk” following a segment about racism that has since caused the network to pause the show and launch an investigation.
Osbourne sat down with “Entertainment Tonight” to discuss the segment, which saw her defend British commentator Piers Morgan’s freedom of speech in a discussion that soon turned contentious with her co-hosts. Morgan recently sparked backlash and ultimately left “Good Morning Britain” after saying he did not believe Meghan Markle during her interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“I wish we could go on and have an adult conversation calmly and work it out but I don’t know whether we can,” Osbourne explained when asked what she wants for the show going forward. “But I don’t know whether I even want to go back. I don’t know whether I’m wanted there.” (RELATED: Piers Morgan Out At ‘Good Morning Britain’ Hours After Storming Off Set Over Meghan Markle Comments)
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“Entertainment Tonight” aired a portion of the interview Tuesday and said it plans to reveal more of what Osbourne said Wednesday. During Tuesday’s clip, Osbourne said she felt like a “sacrificial lamb” and accused network executives at CBS of intentionally setting up the questions.
“I’ve been set up!” Osbourne says she remembered thinking. “And I went, like, ‘How dare you all do this to me?'”
Osbourne said the co-hosts had recently made a pact not to “blindside” each other with questions from producers after an episode in February where Carrie Ann Inaba asked Elaine Welteroth a race-related question, resulting in an uncomfortable segment for everyone.
As for Morgan, she said he’s been checking in on how she’s doing “every day.” The two have been friends for years and she defended his character again to “Entertainment Tonight.”
“I never said it, I never agreed with it,” Osbourne said regarding Morgan’s comments about Markle. “But I agree with his freedom of speech. He’s a provocateur – I kept saying, ‘Show me where he’s been racist. Show me, show me, show me. Educate me. Let me read it.'”
“He’s my friend and for the times that I have worked with him, I have never ever been a party to anything in his company that has ever been racist. Ever,” Osbourne added. “He checks in on me every day, he feels really bad because me standing up for his right of speech has got me where I am today.”
Amid the drama, CBS announced the show is on pause while it conducts an “internal review.” Osbourne told “Entertainment Tonight” she first asked for a review into which executives allegedly made her co-hosts ask the questions about Morgan.
“I think that CBS was so horrified by Piers for the things he was saying – because remember, Harry and Meghan, it’s a CBS interview. I had sided with Piers, so it’s the cancel culture, isn’t it? Throw her under the bus,” Osbourne speculated.
CBS Entertainment did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller.