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Ozzy Osbourne calls wife Sharon 'the most unracist person I've ever met' amid her controversial exit from 'The Talk'

May 20, 2021, 03:03 IST
Insider
Ozzy Osbourne says Sharon is "the most unracist person I've ever met," adding that that she has "weathered the storm, she's marching on."John Phillips / Getty
  • Ozzy Osbourne said Sharon is "the most unracist person I've ever met."
  • Sharon left "The Talk" in March after a series of controversies and allegations involving racism.
  • Osbourne added that Sharon has "weathered the storm, she's marching on."
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Ozzy Osbourne says his wife Sharon is "the most unracist person I've ever met."

On Monday's episode of "Ozzy's Boneyard" on SiriusXM, the former Black Sabbath frontman opened up about the aftermath of Sharon's controversial departure from "The Talk."

Sharon's exit from the CBS talk show in March came amid an emotionally-charged on-air conversation with a cohost about racism, as well as an internal investigation conducted by the network over complaints about an alleged "racially insensitive and hostile environment" on the show's set.

"[Sharon has] been through the mill a bit," Osbourne told guitarist Billy Morrison (who makes occasional appearances on Osbourne's SiriusXM show).

"I'll tell you she's possibly the most unracist person I've ever met. And I'm not just saying that," Osbourne said.

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"I would totally concur. I've known you guys for 25 years," Morrison replied. "I was stunned when it started."

Osbourne also told Morrison that Sharon has "weathered the storm, she's marching on," but added that it's "unpleasant."

"It's one of them things, once you're accused of it, people tar you with that brush," he said about Sharon. "It's very hard to shake off."

Sharon was a cohost on 'The Talk' for 11 years

In early March, Sharon received criticism after she broke down in tears on "The Talk" while defending her friend, and former "Good Morning Britain" host, Piers Morgan.

Morgan had repeatedly made critical comments about Meghan Markle's mental health after Markle and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired March 7. During the interview, Markle shared that she had suicidal thoughts at one point after joining the royal family.

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In a heated exchange with her "The Talk" cohost Sheryl Underwood three days later, Sharon said: "I don't know what [Morgan] has uttered that's racist. I'm not trying to slide out of this one. Tell me, what has he uttered that's racist?"

"I have felt that Piers was racist in his stance against Meghan Markle," Underwood told Sharon.

After the conversation between Sharon and Underwood aired, Sharon shared a statement on Twitter, addressing the emotional exchange between the two.

Sharon said she "panicked, felt blindsided, got defensive, and allowed fear and horror of being accused of being racist take over" during the chat about Morgan.

Soon after, another "The Talk" cohost, Elaine Welteroth, and her hair stylist filed complaints about an allegedly "racially insensitive and hostile environment" on the show, which led to CBS putting the show on hiatus and launching its internal investigation.

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Holly Robinson Peete, a former cohost of "The Talk," also tweeted on March 12 that Sharon had previously complained Peete "was too 'ghetto'" for the CBS show before Peete was fired.

Then, on March 16, journalist Yashar Ali reported in his newsletter that multiple sources, including another former cohost Leah Remini, told him that Sharon "would frequently refer to former cohost Julie Chen, who is Chinese-American, as 'slanty eyes.'"

Osbourne's representative Howard Bragman told Ali in a statement also shared with Insider that the allegations included in Ali's report were "lies," adding that Sharon "will survive this, as she always has and her heart will remain open and good, because she refuses to let others take her down."

These controversies and allegations culminated in Sharon's departure from "The Talk" at the end of March with CBS saying, in a statement shared with Insider by a representative, that "Sharon's behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace."

Sharon addressed her exit from the show during an appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher" on April 16, saying that the accusations against her were false and made by "disgruntled ladies."

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"It's not fair. It isn't about being a racist," she told Maher. "It's maybe not knowing what is correct and woke for your language that day. Because it changes from day to day, what is correct and what isn't."

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