What’s going on at The Talk? Just a day after CBS announced that its daytime panel show was on hiatus after a controversial exchange between hosts Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood went viral, Osbourne is now being accused by her ex-cohosts and anonymous sources of using racist and homophobic language towards her colleagues and creating a “toxic environment” on set.
The drama began on March 9, when former Good Morning Britain host and Twitter provocateur Piers Morgan made insensitive remarks about Meghan Markle following her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. After stating on ITV’s morning news program that he “didn’t believe a word” Markle said about her suicidal ideations during her time as Duchess of Sussex, Morgan sparked thousands of complaints to the network and prompted an investigation by the U.K. 's communications regulator Ofcom before he eventually quit the show. The following day on The Talk, Osbourne defended Morgan, whom she describes as her friend, but was pressed by her fellow co-hosts Underwood and Elaine Welteroth, both Black women, on why she would support someone who made racist comments.
The conversation took a hostile turn when Osbourne became visibly upset, claiming she felt like she was being put in an “electric chair” and forcefully demanding that Underwood “educate” her on how Morgan’s comments were racist. When Underwood became tearful while trying to explain the racist undertones of Morgan’s remarks, Osbourne scolded her for crying, saying that “if anyone should be crying, it should be me.”
As one can imagine in the year 2021, this clip didn’t land well, particularly with Black people, on Twitter. While some users applauded Underwood for staying calm during the heated conversation, many voiced their anger at Osbourne’s aggressive antics and questioned why Black women should have to maintain their composure in the face of mistreatment from white people in the workplace.
Since the video’s circulation, the back-and-forth between Osbourne, her attorney, her ex-colleagues, CBS, and her critics online has been nearly non-stop. On Friday, the same day Osbourne issued a lengthy apology on Twitter, actress Holly Robinson Peete, who co-hosted The Talk in its first season, tweeted that Osbourne allegedly complained that she was “ghetto” and implied that she was involved in her exit from the show. Twitter users were quick to dig up a tweet from former co-host of The Talk Leah Remini back in 2012 in which the actress mentions Osbourne using the racialized term to describe her and Robinson Peete. Users also pointed to a video clip of Osbourne in 2018 saying that Meghan Markle “ain’t Black” because “she doesn’t look Black.”
The following day, in an exclusive interview with Variety, Osbourne vehemently denied using the word “ghetto,” although a Twitter user posted a video of her using it on the show while talking to Remini. She also said that she felt “blindsided” by The Talk’s producers during the Piers Morgan segment, claiming she wasn’t aware they would discuss him.
On Monday, CBS responded to the catastrophe that was rapidly unfolding online with the announcement that they were conducting an “internal review” into the on-air incident between Osbourne and Underwood, and pausing the show until Wednesday. Yesterday, however, the network extended the show’s hiatus to next Tuesday after journalist Yashar Ali published a report on his Substack revealing Osbourne’s alleged use of racist and homophobic language toward her ex-colleagues Julie Chen and Sara Gilbert. Along with other general accusations of bullying that span decades from several sources, Remini alleges in the article that Osbourne referred to Chen, who’s Chinese American, as “wonton” and “slanty eyes” as well as used ethnic slurs against Italians. She also made claims, which were backed up by multiple anonymous sources, that Osbourne referred to Gilbert (The Talk’s creator and executive producer in addition to former co-host), who is a lesbian, as “pussy licker” and “fish eater.”
If this saga couldn’t get any more hectic, Osbourne sat down with Entertainment Tonight yesterday to relay her side of the story, but not before the most recent allegations had dropped. Solely responding to the incident with Underwood, Osbourne expressed regret for dismissing Underwood’s feelings while stating that her reaction was coming from a place of “pain” and “fear.”
“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 told ET. “I don’t know whether it’s gone past that. I would love to but I don’t know whether I even want to go back... I don’t know whether I’m wanted there.”
Throughout the frantic interview, Osbourne oscillates between expressing remorse and rationalizing her ignorance. It’s unfortunate that, at this point, the television host still thinks it’s more important to emphasize that she’s “not racist”—as she did in her argument with Underwood—than admit that she committed an act of racial harm against a Black person. Additionally, the implication that she doesn’t think an “adult conversation” with Underwood is possible even though her co-host displayed nothing but patience and calm in response to her histrionics feels representative of the preconceived notions white people often have about the temperaments of Black women. It seems that what Osbourne really means by “I don’t know whether we can” have a conversation is that she doesn’t really want to.
Osbourne also mentions that her other Black co-host Elaine Welteroth (at the time) is open to having conversation about the incident on the show, which is ultimately Welteroth’s prerogative. But it’s unfortunate how often Black people have to perform this type of emotional labor in addition to fulfilling the regular duties of their job.
Whether or not Osbourne and Underwood will be able to work together again feels irrelevant, as it’s hard to imagine the former—who seems more eager to jump ship than deal with the repercussions of her behavior—redeeming herself in the eyes of the public after the latest set of allegations. Considering the recent spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans over the past year due to COVID-19, there’s presumably more pressure than there would be at any other time for CBS to simply cut ties with Osbourne based on her alleged remarks toward Julie Chen alone. Nevertheless, it shouldn’t take Osbourne insulting every race and sexuality or for certain social issues to be on trend for the network to realize that the comfort of their employees is more important than one person’s job position.
Whether or not Osbourne miraculously returns to the show, I doubt this will be the last we hear of her on this fiasco. As is the case for most powerful white people with problematic opinions, there will most certainly be another platform available for her to rage against “cancel culture” and “wokeness” if she wishes.
