Former CBS talk show host Sharon Osbourne sat down for an interview with Megyn Kelly on Tuesday and blasted Sheryl Underwood, alleging her former colleague was sent to anger management after mistreating the producers.
“Sheryl had three complaints about her from different producers about the way she treated them,” Osbourne said on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Show.
Osbourne, who left The Talk in March after a heated debate about race during the show, said she defended Underwood when executives became concerned about her behavior.
“They called me and I said, ‘You can not get rid of Sheryl, there is no way, she can’t take that, you just can’t do it,’” she said. “So they sent her to anger management.”
According to OK! magazine, Osbourne became embroiled in controversy earlier this year when she showed support for Piers Morgan, who doubted Meghan Markle faced racism from the royal family.
The former host became furious during the March 10 episode of The Talk when Underwood questioned her support for Morgan.
“I feel like I’m about to be put in an electric chair because I have a friend who many people think is a racist, so that makes me a racist. Why can’t it be he just doesn’t like her? Why does it have to be racist?” Osbourne said during the show, as Blavity previously reported.
Osbourne, who was ousted from the show shortly after the heated exchange on air, said politics were the real reason she was forced out. Speaking with Kelly, the 69-year-old said executives were scared of all the "dirt" she had on them.
"I told them about some dirt that had gone on at the company that I knew about. And they were very afraid of me because I'm not afraid to say what I feel," she said. "And they just wanted me gone. Because when I started talking about things that had gone on the show before, they got very, very nervous and just wanted me gone, which I can understand."
Osbourne didn't go into detail about "things that had gone on on the show." However, she said there were incidents involving Underwood and Les Moonves, the former network head who was dismissed in 2018 amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
"The way people were treated when Leslie was at the show, Leslie Moonves," she told Kelly. "Things that had gone down that I knew personally had gone on."
According to the Daily News, Osbourne had apologized for the behavior she displayed during the March 10 episode. But the former host says she is still disappointed to see that the apology wasn't enough for the producers.
“So it’s all right to treat producers that way, but I can’t say anything to a co-host,” Osbourne said.
As Blavity previously reported, a source said CBS paid Osbourne up to $10 million to leave the show following the controversy.
"Sharon Osbourne has decided to leave The Talk. The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home. As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon’s behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace. We also did not find any evidence that CBS executives orchestrated the discussion or blindsided any of the hosts,” the network said in a statement earlier this year.