Sharon Osbourne accuses Sheryl Underwood of ‘trying to destroy my reputation’ and leaks private messages

The Talk star Sheryl Underwood recently claimed Osbourne had not contacted her to apologise for recent on-air controversy

Sharon Osbourne has denied her The Talk co-host Sheryl Underwood’s claim that she never apologised for her conduct after a recent on-air confrontation.

Osbourne left the US talk show last month, after being criticised for remarks made to Underwood during a discussion about Piers Morgan.

Morgan left ITV’s Good Morning Britain following a widely criticised broadcast in which he implied the Duchess of Sussex was lying about experiencing suicidal thoughts during her time as a senior royal. On 10 March, Osbourne defended Morgan over his comments about Markle’s mental health.

Underwood, who is Black, then explained why Morgan’s statements about Markle had been interpreted by some as racist in nature, prompting Osbourne to indicate that Underwood was suggesting she herself had been racist. She then told Underwood: “Don’t try to cry, if anyone should be crying, it should be me.”

On 12 March, Osbourne issued an apology to any viewers she may have offended, and insisted that she did “not condone racism, misogyny or bullying”.

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On the latest episode of Underwood’s The World According to Sheryl podcast, she had claimed not to have spoken to Osbourne since the incident, and said that Osbourne hadn’t contacted her to apologise personally.

However, speaking to the Daily Mail, Osbourne claimed she had sent several messages in apology, and provided screenshots of messages which appear to corroborate this, sent in mid-March.

“I not only sent these messages to Sheryl but I apologised to her in person in her dressing room,” said the presenter.

“Why are you saying I never apologised Sheryl? What are you trying to do to me?”

The presenter also accused her former co-host of trying to “destroy my reputation”.

The Independent has contacted Underwood’s representatives for comment.