Sharon Osbourne Breaks Silence Over Heated Conversation of Race Following Meghan Markle Interview

Sharon Osbourne has apologized after facing controversy over her support for British broadcaster Piers Morgan. After Osbourne and her The Talk co-hosts got into a heated debate during Wednesday’s episode of the daytime talk show, with co-host Sheryl Underwood noting that in some peoples’ eyes, Osbourne’s defense of Morgan is her “standing with racism,” the 68-year-old took to Twitter to clarify her remarks.

After “some reflection, after sitting with your comments & sitting with” her heart, Osbourne, in the lengthy message shared to the platform, “panicked, felt blindsided, got defensive & allowed my fear & horror of being accused of being racist take over” during the discussion. She said she “has always been embraced with so much love & support” by the Black community, and said she is “truly sorry” to “anyone of color that I offended and/or to anyone that feels confused or let down” by her comments. Noting that she is “not perfect” and is “still learning,” the talk show host explained that “there are very few things that hurt my heart more than racism” and to “feel associated with that spun me fast.”

Osbourne went on to write that she does not “condone racism, misogyny or bullying,” and she acknowledged that she “should have been more specific about that in my tweet,” a reference to her initial support of Morgan, in which she said she “is with” and stands by Morgan and that “people forget that you’re paid for your opinion and that you’re just speaking your truth.” She added that while she will “always support freedom of speech,” she now sees how she “unintentionally didn’t make that clear distinction.”

“I hope we can collectively continue to learn from each other and from ourselves so we can all continue to pave the way for much-needed growth and change,” she ended her message. “The community on this platform means a lot to me. I hope we can all hold each other up with accountability, compassion and love during this powerful time of paving the way for so much needed change.”

After sharing the tweet, Morgan – who exited Good Morning Britain on Tuesday following his criticism of Markle and his statement that he did not believe her remarks that she experienced suicidal thoughts while in the U.K. and that the “institution” refused to help her — responded, demanding an apology from The Talk. He said that Osbourne has “been shamed and bullied into apologizing” for her defense of him “against colleagues accusing me of racism because I don’t believe Meghan Markle‘s bulls–.” He went on to add, “I demand an apology from those [The Talk] bullies for their disgraceful slurs against ME.”