Sharon Osbourne addresses future on The Talk amid hiatus and backlash over racism comments

‘I don’t know whether I’m wanted there,’ she said

Sharon Osbourne has addressed her future on the CBS chat show The Talk, after the show went on hiatus following her comments about Piers Morgan.

It was announced earlier this week that The Talk would be undergoing an “internal review” after a discussion of Morgan’s exit from Good Morning Britain saw co-host Osbourne defend the presenter’s remarks about Meghan Markle.

Morgan left 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.

Last Wednesday (10 March), Osbourne defended Morgan over his comments about Markle’s mental health.

Osbourne’s co-host Sheryl Underwood 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 Friday (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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Now, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Osbourne has said she is unsure of the future of The Talk, and whether or not she will return.

“I wish we could go on and have an adult conversation calmly and work it out but I don’t know whether we can,” said the presenter. “I don’t know whether it’s gone past that. I would love to but I don’t know whether I even want to go back. ... I don’t know whether I’m wanted there.”

“I own up to what I did,” she added. “I can’t not own up. I said what I said. I got too personal with Sheryl. I should’ve never said stop her tears. She was hurting as I was hurting.”

Sharon Osbourne on The Talk (CBS)

Osbourne also said she wanted to “listen to the youth” on the issue of racism, and use the controversy as a learning experience.

However, she also claimed she was blindsided by the question about Morgan’s conduct, alleging that her co-hosts had “preparation” and had “written questions”, while she herself was caught unawares.

Read more: Sharon Osbourne made a career out of cruelty - haven’t we heard enough?

“I was p***ed off with my friend for not giving me the heads up,” she continued. “But in hindsight she was doing her job. ... So, she did what she was asked to do, and I can’t blame her for that. The only thing I don’t understand with Sheryl was in the break, why she wouldn’t talk to me and just say, ‘Aww s***, let’s get out of this or something,’ and she didn’t. She wouldn’t talk to me.

“She turned her back and she was holding her finger in her ear like she was talking to a producer in her ear piece, but hey, it is what it is. I conducted myself really badly, really badly.”

Osbourne has also been criticised for a recently resurfaced clip from 2018, in which she refuses to acknowledge that the Duchess of Sussex is Black, claiming that “she doesn’t look Black”.