‘The Talk’: Sheryl Underwood Speaks out on Sharon Osbourne’s Firing

In late March, it was reported that Sharon Osbourne would be leaving The Talk. That announcement came a few weeks after Osbourne had a heated discussion with co-host Sheryl Underwood about racism in light of Piers Morgan’s departure from Good Morning Britain (Morgan left the program after criticizing Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, during which the couple alleged that a member of the royal family raised concerns about their child’s skin color). A little over a week after Osbourne’s exit from The Talk, Underwood has spoken out about the situation, per PEOPLE.

Underwood published a three-part series on her podcast entitled, “Sharon Walks Away.” During the series, Underwood addressed whether she has been in contact with Osbourne since their on-air discussion on March 10. The talk show host noted that she has not spoken to Osbourne since that heated conversation. She also said, when asked whether Osbourne reached out to her directly to apologize, that her former co-host had not. Underwood then went through her phone history to confirm that she hadn’t heard from Osbourne. PEOPLE did note that a representative for Osbourne previously claimed that she did reach out to Underwood. (Osbourne continued to deny Underwood’s claims to the Daily Mail, saying that she apologized to her in person and via text.)

Not only did she address whether she’s been in contact with Osbourne, but Underwood also addressed her former co-host’s claims that their conversation on March 10 was a set up from CBS Executives. Underwood refuted that claim and said that “none” of the questions that were asked during that discussion came from those behind-the-scenes. Additionally, she also mentioned that she attempted to keep the conversation peaceful and that she was cognizant about saying things “in a way that was not perceived as attacking.”

“In my gut, I thought this was going to go left,” Underwood continued. “And so I wanted to put it in its proper order, be very calm, but there were a few people that criticized me on that — ‘Why do you give any f—s about somebody’s feelings? They give no f—s about yours.’ It’s not about the reaction of the person, it’s about me and who I’m trying to evolve and mature to be.” Later on in her podcast, Underwood said that she regrets how the entire matter took place. Although, she did say that it seemed like it was inevitable given the other accusations that have come forward about Osbourne in recent weeks.

“Sometimes in life, something happens and you go, ‘Gosh, if I just would’ve…’ There’s nothing I could have ‘just would’ve’ — this was going to happen, out of my control,” she said. “Sometimes you don’t want to know what you know, you don’t want to feel and hear what you feel and hear, don’t want to accept what you have to accept.” Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.