“It Was Like I Was Dead”: Sharon Osbourne Details Career Fall-Out In Controversial Departure From ‘The Talk’

deadline.com:

Ahead of her return to the UK to both live and work, Sharon Osbourne has given a detailed account of her abrupt departure from CBS’s The Talk last year.When Piers Morgan notoriously voiced his disbelief in what Meghan Markle had to say about her mental health to Oprah Winfrey and faced thousands of complaints to the UK regulator Ofcom (he later left his morning show broadcaster ITV), Osbourne tweeted her support for her longtime friend.This caused an on-air confrontation with her The Talk co-host, Sheryl Underwood, who asked Osbourne live on air if she was racist, and an altercation followed.

Following their televised conflict, and CBS investigating, Osbourne apologised, writing:“To anyone of colour that I offended and/or to anyone that feels confused or let down by what I said, I am truly sorry,” she wrote in a statement. “I panicked, felt blindsided, got defensive and allowed my fear and horror of being accused of being racist take over.”She then faced further claims by colleagues of bigoted remarks, some of which she admitted, some she denied.

Now she tells The Times that her card was already marked, with CBS issuing her marching orders.“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.’”Osbourne described the trolling and death threats that followed, and also how, following a US career of more than 40 years, she realised it was time to return to her native UK.“My phone as far as my TV career here [was concerned] was non-existent, not one call.