Judging by the sound of these insider reports, things will never again be the same on The Talk!
The CBS daytime hit is going through a major controversy right now as co-hosts Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood are at odds after a heated on-air debate during a segment last week. As you’ll recall from our earlier reporting on the topic, it all started when Osbourne defended longtime pal Piers Morgan after his own on-air meltdown days earlier on Good Morning Britain — which led to him walking off set, never to return.
In trying to defend her friend, Sharon got defensive and lashed out at her colleagues, telling Sheryl “you better not cry” while demanding they provide proof Piers was racist.
Related: Sharon Denies Holly Robinson Peete’s ‘Too Ghetto’ Talk Show Dismissal Accusation!
And now, with the controversy going into its second week — and immediately after what should’ve been a triumphant Sunday night for CBS with the Grammys — The Talk is about to face down some serious changes.
An insider spoke to The Sun about the two most prominent stars in question — Osbourne and Underwood — and made one thing very clear: they will “never share the same stage again.” Of course, the network is said to be holding an internal investigation into the pair’s on-air incident, but based on that sourced quote it sounds like the solution is pretty simple!
Somebody’s gotta go!
And it gets even worse, unfortunately…
That same source revealed to The Sun that major changes are forthcoming for the show. So major, in fact, that the plan right now is to hold off on shooting live, new episodes for the time being until they can straighten out the lineup. Whoa!!!
The insider revealed (below):
“This is the worst time in the history of the show. The network execs are furious that their Grammys night was interrupted by dealing with the show’s drama. Heads are going to roll. They may pay off Sharon the rest of her $5 million dollar contract and be done after she called out the network for making producers ambush her. But also possible she will not be let go. There is too much to sort out, so the show won’t be live Monday or Tuesday or maybe even this whole week. The damage is done.”
It might make the most sense to pay off Sharon, as the insider hypothesizes, considering her comments over the weekend that were critical of network execs who she claims “blindsided” her with the Piers Morgan attack. Not to mention the fact a number of women of color have expressed a level of offense that may have them finding a new daytime talk show to watch. And if they truly won’t share the same stage, the other option is… firing SHERYL?? That would NOT be a good look!
Whatever the lineup shake-up ends up being, it’s a black eye for the show, which had previously made (good!) news for bringing in the late Nick Cordero‘s wife, Amanda Kloots, as a new co-host back in December.
From that to this?
Not great, CBS!
But Wait! There’s More…
According to Page Six, host Elaine Welteroth and her hairstylist were the ones who reportedly complained of there being an alleged “racially insensitive and hostile environment” on the show late last week.
In a report published on Monday, the outlet notes that Welteroth’s complaint was lodged with the show’s human resources department, and regards Osboure and Underwood’s “recent exchange.”
As it turns out, this appears to be the specific complaint that officially kicked off the internal review we reported on over the weekend. An insider noted (below):
“Elaine Welteroth and her hairstylist complained to HR over Sharon Osbourne’s recent exchange with Sheryl Underwood. They said they don’t feel comfortable working in a racially insensitive and hostile environment, and this complaint launched the investigation.”
Wow!
It sure looks like The Talk is going to hell in a hand basket…
That same insider further reported that Osbourne is “furious” over what transpired — so much so that she confronted the show runners after last week’s heated on-air exchange with Underwood and demanded an explanation at the time.
The insider dished:
“Showrunners Heather Gray and Kristin Matthews were confronted by Sharon after Wednesday’s show, and she grilled them about why they didn’t prepare her for what was coming from Sheryl. Sharon felt the producers had been ordered not to prepare her and let her be blindsided on live TV because it would be more explosive and get more publicity. She is furious. There’s a lot of finger-pointing going on behind the scenes. The Talk is in full self-destruct mode; everyone is throwing whoever they can under the bus.”
BIG Yikes!!
Never a good sign when the show runners and on-air talent aren’t on the same page! Even worse when there’s a confrontation back stage!
Seriously, what do U make of ALL this The Talk drama, Perezcious readers? Is this show doomed at this point? Will a new lineup fix their problems?! Can they even put together a new lineup this quickly??
And with all that out there, what would the new lineup even look like?! Who would even get bought out; Sharon, most likely?! So much for execs to figure out and solve…
Sound OFF with your answers to all these questions and your reaction to CBS‘ huge daytime TV problem here down in the comments (below)!
[Image via CBS/YouTube.]
The post <i>The Talk</i> Fallout! Sharon Osbourne & Sheryl Underwood Will 'Never Share The Same Stage Again'! appeared first on Perez Hilton.
