Comedian and talk show host Sheryl Underwood has shared her thoughts on the controversy surrounding The Talk, which she co-hosts with Sharon Osbourne and several other women, according to The Los Angeles Times. 

“I thought I was talking with colleagues, and I thought we were having a great conversation. It didn’t go so great, part of it," she said on her podcast The World According to Sheryl.

“The vibe for me was, this was already forgiven and over as soon as it was said,” she said, jokingly adding that she was only thinking about what she had to do once taping ended during the controversial segment.

“I do think there was some anxiety. I do think there was some stress and everything, but for me, I was more, ‘OK, I’ve got a certain amount of time to get to the dentist,’” she added. 

Underwood, 57, who has been on the show since 2011, said there was little tension after the episode aired and that she has only sought ways to keep the show going despite the drama.   

“Everybody was saying, ‘Sheryl: Grace. Discipline. Restraint.’ And talking about what would have happened if the roles were reversed. There are things happening that I have no control over. I couldn’t stop ‘em if I wanted to. I didn’t start it. I can’t stop it. All I can do is be ready for what God is telling me to do,” Underwood said. 

She said that after the incident, she told herself, “Sheryl, if God lets your eyes open, come back to work tomorrow. Don’t come back different. So you hurt. So you’re disappointed. Manage it. Manage your expectations.”

“I got a good night’s sleep. I slept well, ‘cause I didn’t do anything to anybody. I didn’t do anything. And I was a good friend. No matter what came toward me, I was a good friend. And I stayed out of stuff too,” she explained.

On the podcast, Underwood said Osbourne asked to speak with her after the show and the two did speak, but she would not share what the conversation was about and whether it went well. 

“I kept saying, Sheryl, this is entertainment, this is television, it is daytime television. You want to keep this show on the air for 10 more years because you believe it has legs. You believe it can happen. And people go through stuff on shows all the time…So I just kept thinking to myself, let this play out. But don’t you become different. Don’t you put yourself in a different posture. You can’t wear the crown with your head held down,” she said.

She would not elaborate on whether or not she thinks Osbourne is racist.

“My mantra, my way of thinking, is always forgiveness first, and right beside that is apology. Those two things go together. I don’t know what’s in Sharon’s heart. I don’t know what she’s feeling. The only feelings I can control…are my own," she said.

The Canadian daytime TV show has been in headlines over the past two weeks after being swept up in the drama surrounding the interview between Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. 

Conservative British commentator Piers Morgan made waves for multiple unhinged, bigoted rants against Markle, causing him to leave his spot on a morning show after his own co-workers called him out for his racism, as Blavity previously reported. 

Osbourne came to his defense, telling news outlets and Twitter that despite Morgan's racially-offensive language toward Markle, he was not a racist. 

Producers on The Talk decided the topic was worth covering on the show but reportedly did not tell Osbourne they would be discussing her comments beforehand. 

Underwood and other co-hosts tip-toed around the topic and spoke calmly about their views on Morgan's words but Osbourne lashed out at them all, claiming she was being ambushed and called a racist because of her association with Morgan. 

“I feel…like I’m about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend who many people think is a racist, so that makes me a racist. And for me, at 68 years of age, to have to turn around and say, ‘I ain’t racist.’…How can I be racist about anybody or anything in my life? How can I?” Osbourne yelled at Underwood.


Since that episode, CBS has launched investigations into Osbourne and past racist conduct toward other co-hosts, throwing the show's future into disarray as it goes on hiatus. 

Several former co-hosts on the show have come out to say Osbourne made bigoted comments toward them. Holly Robinson Peete, a former host on the show, said Osbourne called her "ghetto" before getting her fired.

Multiple sources also told journalist Yashar Ali that Osbourne used to call former co-host Julie Chen “wonton” and “slanty eyes.”

Piers-MorganSharon-OsbourneSheryl UnderwoodThe Talk