Sharon Osbourne has exited The Talk following accusations of racism and misconduct, Variety has learned.
Osbourne, who made headlines this month for defending friend Piers Morgan’s divisive comments about Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah, has “decided to leave” after drawing backlash from her fiery exchange with co-host Sheryl Underwood and resurfaced allegations of racism from former co-host Holly Robinson Peete.
“The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home,” CBS shared in a statement on Friday (March 26). “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. We also did not find any evidence that CBS executives orchestrated the discussion or blindsided any of the hosts.”
“At the same time, we acknowledge the Network and Studio teams, as well as the showrunners, are accountable for what happened during that broadcast as it was clear the co-hosts were not properly prepared by the staff for a complex and sensitive discussion involving race,” the network continued, concluding, "Going forward, we are identifying plans to enhance the producing staff and producing procedures to better serve the hosts, the production and, ultimately, our viewers."
After defending Morgan's remarks that Markle wrongfully accused the Royal Family of bullying her, the 68-year-old TV personality sparked her own controversy on an episode of The Talk when she demanded that Underwood "educate" her on the "racist things" Morgan has been accused of saying.
“Educate me, tell me when you have heard him say racist things?” Osbourne challenged Underwood during the tense exchange. “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?”
Needless to say, the heated moment didn’t sit well with viewers at home.
Among them included Robinson Peete, who recollected Osbourne’s past alleged racism, claiming Osbourne once complained that she was “too ghetto” when they co-hosted together during the show's 2011 premiere. At the time, Robinson Peete had been subsequently dismissed the following season.
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