Sharon Osbourne has claimed she’s been “cancelled” following remarks she made as co-host on The Talk show in the US. She’s returned to the UK and claimed on This Morning she “can’t get arrested in America.”
Osbourne defended her friend Piers Morgan on US chat show The Talk over Morgan’s comments about Meghan Markle and her Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021. Sharon Osbourne claims her views have led to “America blacklisting me.”
On the CBS show, Sharon argued with co-host Sheryl Underwood about whether Morgan’s comments about Markle had been racist.
Sharon Osbourne ‘can’t get arrested in America’
Sharon Osbourne has claimed she “can’t get arrested in America.” During an interview on UK breakfast show This Morning, she said: “It went wrong, it went very, very wrong. They say there is no blacklisting in America, well I’m living proof there is. Not that I’m resentful or whatever, [it’s] just a fact of life. It happens.”
This Morning host Philip Schofield asked Sharon whether she was actually “cancelled.” Sharon replied: “Like I say, I can’t get arrested there.”
Her comments confused some viewers who thought Osbourne was saying she had actually been arrested because of her views. Schofield clarified she “nearly got arrested in America” before addressing Sharon’s claims she had received death threats for her comments.
The former X Factor judge insisted she never used “hate speech” against the Duchess of Sussex or anyone. She said: “I can look at myself in the mirror. I know I over-talk and I can be a bit overbearing – but I’ve never spoken with hate. I say what I feel, I’m confrontational but I don’t do any hate speech.”
Sharon now presents The Talk in the UK on Talk TV. Sharon Osbourne and husband Ozzy are set to star in a new BBC documentary series about their life.
She claims she was ‘cancelled’ over The Talk controversy
Two weeks after the controversial episode aired, Sharon was suspended from The Talk and later dismissed as her behaviour “did not align with our values for a respectful workplace,” as per a statement released by CBS.
The controversy came during a debate about Morgan’s comments towards Meghan Markle and whether his criticism came from a racist standpoint. Sharon defended him, but co-host Sheryl said Sharon was giving “validation” to “racist views.”
Sharon responded by saying she supported Piers’ freedom of speech, and added:
Why is it that because I supported a long-time friend and work colleague for years, people go ‘well you must be racist because he’s racist.’ No. I support his freedom of speech. I’m not racist and neither is Piers racist. What have I ever said about anybody that’s racist? It’s not within me. It’s not in my soul.
The row sparked after Morgan walked off ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain following backlash over his comments about Markle. He later left his role as a presenter on the show.
Sharon and Piers Morgan: Friendship
Sharon and Piers have been friends for years. They even appeared on CBS’ The Talk in 2013 and co-judged on America’s Got Talent in 2007. That did involve an argument but it was resolved by season 2.
In 2009, Sharon joined Piers for a sit-down interview for his ITV series, Piers Morgan’s Life Stories. They now both have solo talk shows on The Talk after their friendship of at least 15 years.
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