Sharon Osbourne decided Friday to leave the daytime program “The Talk”, parting ways with CBS.
The decision came after the network’s internal investigation into Osbourne’s controversial exchange with her co-host Sheryl Underwood during the March 10 episode of the show, when Osbourne defended her friend and former colleague Piers Morgan.
“Sharon Osbourne has decided to leave The Talk,” the network reportedly told USA Today. “The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home. As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon’s behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace.”
This. Is. ABSURD. https://t.co/rvmywFDbuK
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) March 27, 2021
CBS noted that the co-hosts were not prepared to hold such a conversation, stating that “Network and Studio teams, as well as the showrunners” were accountable for what happened during the intense exchange between Osbourne and Underwood, The Los Angeles Times reported.
“I’m not racist … I don’t care what color or what religion anyone is,” Osbourne said after Underwood characterized her defense of Morgan’s attack on Markle as “validation or safe haven to something … racist”.
“I feel even like I’m about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend who many people think is a racist, so that makes me a racist,” Osbourne said of the backlash during the March 10 episode. (RELATED: ‘Do We Still Have To Believe Her?’: Piers Morgan Slams Meghan Markle For Secret Wedding Claims)
She later accused the network of blindsiding her with the gratuitous racism allegation. “I’ve been set up!” Osbourne said she remembered thinking. “And I went, like, ‘How dare you all do this to me?’,” she said at the time.