Alyssa Milano Reacts to Shannen Doherty’s Death After Longtime ‘Charmed’ Feud

Actress Alyssa Milano issued a statement on Sunday responding to the death of her Charmed co-star Shannen Doherty. Doherty passed away on Saturday, July 13 after a long battle with breast cancer. Milano acknowledged their feud in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, but she still mourned Doherty and sent condolences to her loved ones.

“It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” said Milano. “She was a talented actress, beloved by many, and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”

Milano played Phoebe on the supernatural drama Charmed, while Doherty played Prue. The show ran from 1998 to 2006, but Doherty was fired in 2001 and replaced by Rose McGowan, who played a new character named Paige. That was the heart of her feud with Milano, since Doherty believed that Milano had a hand in getting her dismissed from the show.

Doherty first floated this accusation last year on her podcast, Let’s Be Clear, during an episode with Charmed co-star Holly Marie Combs as guest. She and Milano then faced each other at a fan convention in Orlando, Florida, where Milano lamented that the legacy of the show was being “tarnished by a toxicity.” Doherty fired back, saying that she and Combs objectively shared the facts for the sake of the fans, not to create drama.

On another episode of her podcast, Doherty revealed that she was invited to return for the series finale in 2006 but turned the opportunity down. She said: I regret it in one sense. I regret it for the fans. But I don’t regret it for me, because I was so incredibly wrecked from getting fired that, I think, even years, years, years later, had I walked on that set, it just would’ve stirred everything back up for me. And it would’ve crushed me all over again.”

Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and she had a difficult road to remission in 2017. However, in 2020 Doherty revealed that her cancer had returned and advanced to stage four. She received a terminal diagnosis in June of 2023. She was open with fans throughout the process, advocating for cancer research on behalf of other patients. She passed away at her home in Malibu, California.