Sharon Osbourne denies allegations of racism, says she's being set up: 'I'm your sacrificial lamb'
- Sharon Osbourne has denied allegations of racism from her former "Talk" cohost Leah Remini.
- Remini said Osbourne would call her former cohost Julie Chen "wonton" and "slanty eyes."
- Osbourne said in an interview with ET: "Don't accuse me of something that's a lie."
Sharon Osbourne has denied allegations of racism from her former "Talk" cohost Leah Remini, who said Osbourne used racial and homophobic slurs against other former cohosts.
Remini told the journalist Yashar Ali that Osbourne would call Julie Chen, who is of Chinese descent, "wonton" and "slanty eyes."
Ali's report also cited multiple sources as saying another cohost, Sara Gilbert (who is a lesbian), was often called a "pussy licker" and "fish eater" by Osbourne.
In a sit-down interview with "ET," Osbourne denied all allegations of racism and homophobia.
"People who are let go along the way get pissed off," she said. "I'm the big girl with the big mouth, so they fire it at me."
She added: "But I'm not a fool - don't accuse me of something that's a lie."
This comes three days after Osbourne denied allegations of racism from her former cohost Holly Robinson Peete, who tweeted that Osbourne got her fired from the CBS show for being "too ghetto."
Osbourne responded to Peete on Twitter. "In response to Holly Robinson Peete's accusation of me getting her fired from 'The Talk,' I am sharing an email sent to me from Holly one month after she was let go by CBS," Osbourne wrote.
"As I have stated before, I have never had the ability/authority to get anyone fired from 'The Talk.'"
In the same interview with "ET," Osbourne also spoke about the anger she felt in the original episode of "The Talk" that led to this drama. In the episode, Osbourne broke down in tears in defense of Piers Morgan after her cohosts criticized Morgan for his reaction to the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry interview with Oprah.
Osbourne told "ET" that the hosts of "The Talk" had made a pact last year to never ask one another questions that the others hadn't prepared for.
Osbourne said that she was caught unaware by the question, however, and that executives had told Sheryl Underwood and Elaine Welteroth to ask Osbourne questions around Morgan that she wasn't prepared for.
Osbourne said she felt set up by the show: "I'm like, 'I've been set up.' And I went like, 'How dare you all do this to me?' I'm your sacrificial lamb.
"I was so angry, I cannot begin to tell you. Not with Sheryl, not with Elaine, not with anybody. But a company that I've worked at for 11 years."
Osbourne said CBS might have been annoyed with her for defending Morgan, as Markle and Harry's interview was aired by CBS.
"It's the cancel culture, isn't it? Throw her under the bus," Osbourne said.
Osbourne previously made similar comments in an interview with Variety in which she said she felt "blindsided" by the questions in the episode, and blamed the executives of CBS for the incident. Osbourne said: "I was just so hurt, caught off guard and stunned by what I was being asked and not prepared."
"The Talk," which usually airs Monday through Friday, is on hiatus following Osbourne's debate with Underwood. This started Monday and was meant to last two days, but the hiatus has now been extended as a result of these allegations. The show is rumored to return next Tuesday.
CBS is also conducting an internal investigation into the show following that episode, which Page Six reported was triggered by a complaint from Welteroth and her hairstylist. The two reportedly filed complaints about a "racially insensitive and hostile environment" on the set of the show.