Wthe hat is passing in The conversation? Just one day after CBS announced that its daytime panel show was on hiatus after a controversial exchange Between hosts Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood went viral, Osbourne is now being accused by his former co-hosts and anonymous sources of using racist and homophobic language towards colleagues and creating a “toxic environment” on set.
The drama began on March 9, when the former Good morning Great Britain Twitter host and provocateur Piers Morgan made insensitive comments about Meghan Markle after her explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. After testifying on the ITV morning news That he “didn’t believe a word,” Markle said of his suicidal thoughts during his time as Duchess of Sussex, Morgan sparked thousands of online complaints and sparked an investigation by UK communications regulator Ofcom before eventually quit the program. . The next day the The conversationOsbourne defended Morgan, whom she describes as her friend, but was pressured by fellow co-hosts Underwood and Elaine Welteroth, both black women, about why she would support someone who made racist comments.
The conversation took a hostile turn when Osbourne was visibly upset, claiming she felt like she was being placed in an “electric chair” and vigorously demanding that Underwood “educate” her on how Morgan’s comments were racist. When Underwood began to cry while trying to explain the racist undertones of Morgan’s comments, Osbourne scolded her for crying, saying “if anyone should cry, it should be me.”
As one can imagine in the year 2021, this clip did not land well, particularly among blacks, on Twitter. While some users applauded Underwood for staying calm during the heated conversation, many voiced anger at Osbourne’s aggressive antics and questioned why black women should have to maintain their composure in the face of mistreatment by whites in the workplace.
Since the video’s circulation, the exchange between Osbourne, his lawyer, his former colleagues, CBS and his online critics has been almost continuous. On Friday, the same day that Osbourne issued an extensive sorry on Twitter, actress Holly Robinson Peete, co-host The conversation in its first season, tweeted that Osbourne allegedly complained that she was a “ghetto” and hinted that she was involved in his exit from the show. Twitter users were quick to discover a cheep from the former co-host of The conversation Leah Remini in 2012 in which the actress mentions Osbourne using the term racialized to describe her and Robinson Peete. Users also pointed to a 2018 Osbourne video clip that said Meghan Markle “isn’t black” because she “doesn’t look black.”
The next day, in an exclusive interview with Variety, Osbourne vehemently denied using the word “ghetto”, although a Twitter user posted a video of her using it on the show while talking to Remini. She also said that she was “surprised” by The conversationproducers during the Piers Morgan segment, claiming that she didn’t know they would be talking about him.
On Monday, CBS responded to the rapidly unfolding catastrophe online by announcing that they were conducting an “internal review” of the on-air incident between Osbourne and Underwood, and pausing the show until Wednesday. Yesterday, however, the network extended the program’s hiatus until next Tuesday after journalist Yashar Ali published a report on his Substack that revealed Osbourne’s alleged use of racist and homophobic language towards his former colleagues Julie Chen and Sara Gilbert. Along with other general allegations of intimidation spanning decades from various sources, Remini alleges in the article that Osbourne referred to Chen, who is Chinese-American, as “wontons” and “slanted eyes,” and also used ethnic slurs against Italians. She also made claims, which were supported by my multiple anonymous sources, that Osbourne referred to Gilbert (The conversationcreator and executive producer as well as former co-host), who is a lesbian, like “lick pussies” and “eat fish.”
“Remini alleges in the article that Osbourne referred to Chen, who is Chinese-American, as “wonton” and “slanted eyes” as well as … he referred to Gilbert (the creator and executive producer of ‘The Talk’ as well as former co-host), who is a lesbian, like “lick pussies” and “eat fish.”“
If this saga couldn’t get any more eventful, Osbourne sat with Entertainment tonight yesterday to convey his version of events, but not before the most recent allegations had disappeared. Responding solely to the incident with Underwood, Osbourne expressed regret for dismissing Underwood’s feelings while stating that his reaction came from a place of “pain” and “fear”.
“I wish we could go ahead and have an adult conversation calmly and work it out, but I don’t know if we can,” Osbourne said. ET. “I don’t know if that has happened. I would love to, but I don’t know if I want to go back … I don’t know if they want me there. “
Throughout the frantic interview, Osbourne oscillates between expressing remorse and rationalizing his ignorance. It is unfortunate that, at this point, the television host still thinks it is more important to emphasize that she is “not a racist” – as she did in her discussion with Underwood – than to admit that she committed an act of racial harm against a black person. Also, the implication that she doesn’t believe an “adult conversation” with Underwood is possible despite her co-host showing nothing but patience and calm in response to her histrionics feels representative of the preconceived notions that whites have about. often about the temperaments of black women. It seems that what Osbourne really means by “I don’t know if we can” have a conversation is that she really doesn’t want to.
Osbourne also mentions that his other Black co-host Elaine Welteroth (at the time) is open to having a conversation about the incident on the show, which is ultimately Welteroth’s prerogative. But it is unfortunate how often blacks have to do this kind of emotional work in addition to fulfilling their usual job duties.
Whether Osbourne and Underwood will be able to work together again or not seems irrelevant, as it’s hard to imagine the former appearing more eager to jump ship than dealing with the repercussions of his behavior, redeeming himself in the public eye after the latter. set of accusations. Considering the recent spike in hate crimes against Asian-Americans over the past year due to COVID-19, there is presumably more pressure than there would be at any other time for CBS to simply cut ties with Osbourne based solely on his supposed comments towards Julie Chen. . However, it shouldn’t be necessary for Osbourne to insult all races and sexualities or for certain social issues to be in vogue for the network to realize that the comfort of its employees is more important than a person’s job title.
Whether Osbourne miraculously returns to the show or not, I doubt this is the last we hear from her in this fiasco. As is the case with the more powerful whites with problematic opinions, surely there will be another platform available for her to rage against the “cancellation of the culture” and the “awakening” if she wishes.