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The daytime talk show The Talk has been off the air for a couple days now, and with good reason: One of its stars flipped out on a co-host — and all so she could defend Piers Morgan. Sharon Osbourne didn’t take it lightly when colleague Sheryl Underwood asked about her longtime friend, who got into hot water after his repeated and over-the-top attacks on Duchess of Essex Megyn Markle. The show went on what they said would be a brief hiatus, but it seems the break won’t be as short as once planned.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, The Talk, which was supposed to come back on Wednesday the 17th, is now (tentatively!) scheduled to return Tuesday the 23rd. The official reason is that CBS is not yet done investigating what happened, which, a spokesperson for the network said, includes “a process where all voices are heard, claims are investigated and appropriate action is taken where necessary.”
But since CBS announced the hiatus, other issues have come to light. Fellow original cast member Holly Robinson Peete tweeted that Osbourne had made racist comments about her back in the day. Osbourne disputed that claim over Twitter. But on Tuesday, reporter Yashar Ali posted a Substack featuring allegations of other such language made by her, complete with comments from former co-panelist Leah Remini.
Osbourne, who is the last remaining original co-host of The Talk, first came under fire last Wednesday when she aggressively defended Morgan, “Educate me, tell me when you have heard him say racist things,” Osbourne said to Underwood. “I very much feel 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 was roundly condemned for what was seen as a privileged response, and she apologized over social media. In light of the more recent allegations, her new publicist responded defensively, writing, “The only thing worse than a disgruntled former employee is a disgruntled former talk show host,” and alleging that over the years she’s been “kind, collegial and friendly with her hosts as evidenced by throwing them parties, inviting them to her home in the U.K. and other gestures of kindness too many to name.”
(Via THR)
