Sharon Osbourne Alleges ‘The Talk’ Fight About Piers Morgan Was a ‘Setup’

Sharon Osbourne says she’s being set up when it comes to the backlash against the comments she made to Sheryl Underwood on The Talk last week. Osbourne told Entertainment Tonight that her fight with Underwood and fellow co-host Elaine Welteroth was “the biggest setup ever,” adding that The Talk showrunners told her CBS executives had co-hosts blindside her with questions about defending Piers Morgan in the wake of his rude comments about Meghan Markle.

Osbourne told ET that she arrived late to The Talk studio last Wednesday when a showrunner asked her, “Hey, do you want to clear up the Piers thing again?” Osbourne said she replied, “If you want me to, I will.” Eight minutes into showtime, the showrunner said, “Maybe one of [the co-hosts] doesn’t agree” with her, but Osbourne said that was hardly what unfolded on live TV after that. She said she believes the questions asked were written for Underwood and Welteroth on their index cards but not on hers.

“And I’m like, ‘I’ve been set up,’” she told ET. “And I went like, how DARE you all do this to me! I’m your sacrificial lamb.” She said she was not prepared for the line of questioning, which broke a pact the co-hosts previously made that they would never blindside each other.

Osbourne said that during the next commercial break, she asked for an explanation but that Underwood would not speak to her. She said she’s privately apologized for the comments she made but that Underwood has not responded to her. “I love Sheryl, I’ve apologized to Sheryl, she’s not gotten back and I can understand. Sheryl needs her time,” she said.

“I own up to what I did,” she added. “I can’t not own up. I said what I said. I got too personal with Sheryl. I should’ve never said stop her tears. She was hurting as I was hurting.”

“I am not a racist and if you can’t have a go at your friend who happens to be Black, does that make me racist because I said certain things to my friend, but I said them on camera?” she asked. “I will keep on apologizing to Sheryl, even if I decide not to go back, I will still keep apologizing to Sheryl. I have nothing but respect and so much affection for Sheryl. I don’t want to hurt her.”

Underwood opened up about the heated moment on her podcast, Sheryl Underwood Radio. She called Osbourne a “friend” and admitted to restraining herself while cameras were rolling.

As previously reported, Piers Morgan said on Good Morning Britain he didn’t “believe a word [Markle] said” in her and Prince Harry’s CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which Markle revealed she struggled with suicidal thoughts during her time as a royal and said the royal family was concerned with what color her and Harry’s children’s skin would be. Osbourne defended Morgan, who she called her friend, from the immediate backlash against his comments. After a heated and emotional discussion on The Talk last week, Osbourne apologized on Twitter “to anyone of color that I offended and/or to anyone that feels confused or let down by what I said.”

Days after that, Holly Robinson Peele said Osbourne had her fired from the show for being “too ghetto.” This week, Leah Remini accused Osbourne of using racist and homophobic language at The Talk. Osbourne denied those accusations.

“People who are let go along the way get pissed off,” Osbourne said. “I’m the big girl with the big mouth, so they fire at me. But I’m not a fool. Don’t accuse me of something that’s a lie.” Osbourne said she’s not sure if she will return to the CBS talk show when it returns from its hiatus next week, pending an investigation into the incident.

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