Alyssa Milano Responds to Shannen Doherty’s ‘Charmed’ Claims

Alyssa Milano addresses Holly Marie Combs’ accusations that she got Shannen Doherty fired from Charmed. “I feel like I should address the elephant in the room,” Milano said at the Megacon Orlando Charmed panel on Friday, February 2. “You’re all Charmed fans, I knew this was going to come up in one way or another. I want to be very thoughtful in how I respond to any of this.”

Milano made the statement in reference to Doherty, 52, and Combs’ December 2023 Let’s Be Clear podcast episode, in which the pair discussed the WB show’s backstage drama and claimed Milano was responsible for Doherty’s dismissal.

“I will just say that I’m sad. I don’t think it’s really that I’m sad for me or for my life or how it does or does not affect my life. I’m the most sad for the fans,” she shared. “I am the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day almost a quarter of a century later still happening.”

Despite the drama, she admitted she was also upset that others couldn’t look beyond it and appreciate what they achieved in eight seasons. Milano explained that she also had to work on processing her own emotions, even though she understands that Doherty and Combs, 50, are still coping with their feelings.

“When I think back to that time it was hard for me, and I have worked super hard in my life in the last 25 years to heal all of my trauma,” she said. “And that’s not just all the trauma that I experienced while shooting but all of my trauma. I’ve worked really hard to heal the bits because I understand that hurt people hurt people and my intention is to be a healed person that helps heal people.”

Milano said she would love to do a panel with her costars on stage, but she doesn’t know what else she can do to repair their broken relationship. “I think I’ve been very upfront and taken accountability for and apologized for whatever part I played in the situation,” she confessed. “I have been very forthcoming about that. I don’t know how else to fix it.”

For Milano, the drama is “heartbreaking and hard,” but she is most concerned for the fans. “This is the uncomfortable part that I wish was different,” she concluded. “So apologies to all of you who love us anyway.”

From 1996 to 2008, Milano played Phoebe Halliwell on the supernatural series with Combs and Doherty portraying her sisters, Piper and Prue. At the end of season 3, Doherty’s character was abruptly killed off, and Rose McGowen’s Paige replaced her in season 4. During the time of the show’s cancellation, Spelling Television stated that Doherty left to pursue other projects. She hinted at the time that there had been “drama” on set, but she did not elaborate.

Doherty and Combs made headlines in December 2023 when Combs claimed Milano had forced Doherty out. “We didn’t mean to [fire Shannen], but we’ve been backed into this corner,” she recalled producer Jonathan Levin telling her. “‘We’re basically in this position where it’s one or the other. We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen] and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment.”

Friday marks Milano’s first public mention of the firing allegations. In 2021, the actress confessed to on-set tensions, saying, “You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of our tension that we had. I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood that the show was so much about. And I have some guilt about my part in that.” She also revealed that the two were “cordial.”