Sharon Osbourne is opening up about her departure from The Talk last year, which she says resulted in death threats and missed career opportunities.
In a new interview with the Sunday Times Magazine, the former reality star and wife of rock star Ozzy Osbourne addressed the fallout from her exit from the CBS daytime talk show. Osbourne left the show after having a major argument with co-host Sheryl Underwood during the show’s March 10, 2021 episode about Piers Morgan and his criticism of Meghan Markle. Osbourne faced backlash for defending her “very good friend” Morgan against accusations that his attacks on the duchess were racist, and later issued a public apology.
Soon, she was facing allegations that she herself was racist, prompting an investigation and reports claiming that she had mocked Talk co-panelist Julie Chen Moonves, who is Asian American. While Osbourne, 69, told the Sunday Times Magazine she feels terrible about using a slur in reference to the TV personality, she disputes claims that she “said anything about her eyes.”
The British star also told the U.K. publication that she quickly realized her time at CBS was done.
“They said to me, ‘You are on permanent suspension. We don’t think that you’re repentant enough. And we will decide whether you ever come back.’ And I said, ‘Well, who’s going to make that decision?’ And they said, ‘We can’t tell you,’” said Osbourne, who left for good on March 26 of last year.
Soon, death threats began.
“They were saying they were going to come in the night, cut my throat, cut Ozzy’s throat, cut my dogs’ throats,” Osbourne shared, adding that her career also took a blow stateside.
“My phone as far as my TV career here was nonexistent, not one call. Noth-ing,” she said. “In England and Australia it never changed. Here it was like I was dead.”
Primarily, Osbourne stayed at home to avoid conflicts with the public. She underwent months of ketamine therapy, which she calls “a truth drug.”
“I said, ‘I ain’t going out, I ain’t doing anything.’ I just couldn’t stop crying because all I was thinking about was all the things that I’ve gone through in my life, and now they’re calling me a racist, this is insanity,” she said.
Still, Osbourne isn’t afraid to speak out on topical issues, and is soon set to star in a primetime evening talk show — also named The Talk — in her native England. When asked about Will Smith‘s assault of Chris Rock at the Oscars, she said it was an example of hypocrisy.
“When he wins [the Best Actor award], everybody stands up. It’s, like, you’re such hypocrites. You’re going to go home and say how disgraceful his behavior was, but you stand up and give him a standing ovation,” she said. “You know, it’s like I’ve always said, in this industry, if people could make a buck off you … If Hitler were alive today, they would give him a TV show.”
She also opened up about how she still struggles with different personal issues, including a shopping addiction and bulimia.
“I’m, like, I just f***ing ate that, I’m going to get rid of it. I’ve done it for years and years. It’s become part of me,” she explained. “Do I accept it? Do I like it? No, I have the worst acid reflux in the entire world.”
Despite her struggles, the mainstay in her life has been Ozzy, with whom she will celebrate her 40th wedding anniversary this summer. She calls him the “only man other than my father that I’ve ever truly loved.” Though the rocker is struggling with Parkinson’s disease, as well as other health issues related to a fall a few years ago, are looking ahead to their next chapter as they head back to England and leave Hollywood behind.
“In the entertainment industry everyone’s a hypocrite, everybody’s a jobsworth. Everybody overnight became politically correct and ‘walk on eggshells,'” said Osbourne. “Everybody’s scared of saying something wrong that somebody would take and sell. It’s no way to bloody live. I don’t want it. I don’t need it. It’s just our time to go home. I don’t want to be judged.”
