What passes to The talk? Just a day after CBS announced that its daytime panel program was down after one controversial exchange between hosts Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood went viral, Osbourne is now being accused by her ex-cohosts and anonymous sources of using racist and homophobic language towards her colleagues and creating a “toxic environment” on set.
The drama began on March 9, when it was earlier Good morning Britain Twitter host and provocateur Piers Morgan made insensitive comments about Meghan Markle after her interview with Oprah Winfrey. After publishing ITV’s morning news program that “not a word was believed” Markle said about her suicidal ideas during her time as Duchess of Sussex, Morgan sparked thousands of complaints on the net and prompted an investigation by UK communications regulator Ofcom before he finally left the program. . The next day The talk, Osbourne defended Morgan, whom she describes as her friend, but was pressured by her roommates Underwood and Elaine Welteroth, both black women, why she would support someone making racist comments.
The conversation took a hostile turn when Osbourne felt visibly upset, claiming he felt they were putting her in an “electric chair” and strongly demanded that Underwood “educate” her about how Morgan’s comments were racist. When Underwood cried as she tried to explain the racist nuances of Morgan’s statements, Osbourne scolded her for crying saying that “if anyone should cry, it would be me.”
As you can imagine in 2021, this clip didn’t land well, especially with black people, on Twitter. While some users applauded Underwood to stay calm during the heated conversation, many expressed anger at Osbourne’s aggressive jokes and wondered why black women should remain calm in the face of white people’s abuse in the workplace.
Since the video aired, the back and forth between Osbourne, his lawyer, his former colleagues, CBS, and his online critics has been almost uninterrupted. On Friday, the same day, Osbourne posted a long sorry on Twitter, actress Holly Robinson Peete, who co-hosted The talk in its first season, he tweeted that Osbourne allegedly complained that she was a “ghetto” and hinted that she was involved in his exit from the program. Twitter users quickly dug up in tweet of the ex-companion of The talk Leah Remini in 2012, in which the actress mentions Osbourne with the term racialized to describe her and Robinson Peete. Users also pointed to a 2018 Osbourne music video that said Meghan Markle is “not black” because “she doesn’t look black.”
The next day, in an exclusive interview with Variety, Osbourne vehemently denied the use of the word “ghetto”, even though a Twitter user posted a video who used it on the show while talking to Remini. She also said she felt “blinded” by The talkthe producers of the Piers Morgan segment, stating that he was unaware that they would discuss it.
On Monday, CBS responded to the catastrophe that was developing rapidly in line with the announcement that they were conducting an “internal review” of the anti-aircraft incident between Osbourne and Underwood and paused the program until Wednesday. Yesterday, however, the network extended the program’s hiatus until next Tuesday after journalist Yashar Ali published a report on his Substack that revealed Osbourne’s alleged use of racist and homophobic language towards his former teammates Julie Chen and Sara. Gilbert. Along with other general allegations of bullying spanning decades from various sources, Remini alleges in the article that Osbourne referred to Chen, who is Chinese-American, as “wonton” and “slanted eyes,” in addition to use ethnic insults against Italians. He also made claims, which supported my multiple anonymous sources, that Osbourne was referring to Gilbert (The talkcreator and executive producer, in addition to the former co-host), who is a lesbian, as a “vagabond” and “fish eater”.
“Remini alleges in the article that Osbourne referred to Chen, who is Chinese-American, as “wonton” and “slanted eyes”, as well as … he referred to Gilbert (creator and executive producer of ‘The Talk ‘, in addition to the ex-host), who is a lesbian, as a “pussy licker” and “fish eater”.”
If this saga couldn’t get any more hectic, Osbourne sat there Entertainment tonight yesterday to convey his side of the story, but not before the most recent allegations had fallen. Responding solely to the incident with Underwood, Osbourne expressed regret for rejecting Underwood’s feelings while claiming that his reaction came from a place of “pain” and “fear.”
“I wish I could continue an adult conversation calmly and work on it, but I don’t know if we can,” Osbourne said. I. “I do not know if this has happened. I’d love to, but I don’t know if I even want to go back … I don’t know if they want me. “
Throughout the frantic interview, Osbourne oscillates between expressing remorse and rationalizing his ignorance. It is unfortunate that, at this time, the television host believes that it is more important to stress that “he is not racist” —as he did in his discussion with Underwood — than to admit that he committed an act of racial harm against a person. black. Also, the implication that she doesn’t think an “adult conversation” with Underwood is possible, even though her host showed nothing but patience and calm in response to her histrionics, feels representative of the notions. preconceived notions that white people usually have about temperaments Black women. It seems like what Osbourne really means by “I don’t know if we can” hold a conversation is that he really doesn’t want to.
Osbourne also mentions that his other black co-presenter Elaine Welteroth (at the time) is open to talking about the show’s incident, which is ultimately Welteroth’s prerogative. But it is unfortunate how often blacks have to do this kind of emotional work in addition to fulfilling the usual duties of their job.
Whether Osbourne and Underwood will be able to work together again or not is irrelevant, as it is difficult to imagine the former — who seems more eager to jump than to deal with the repercussions of their behavior — redeeming himself in the public eye after the last set of allegations. Given the recent rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans over the past year due to COVID-19, presumably there is more pressure than there would be at any other time for CBS to simply sever ties with Osbourne based on her alleged statements to Julie Chen alone. . However, it should not happen Osbourne insulting all races and sexualities, nor that there are certain social issues on trend for the network to realize that the comfort of its employees is more important than a person’s job position.
Whether Osbourne miraculously returns to the show or not, I doubt this will be the last we hear about this failure. As is the case with the most powerful white people with problematic opinions, there will surely be another platform available to get angry against “culture cancellation” and “wake up” if you wish.