As you may have heard, The Talk is down yet another co-host this week as Carrie Ann Inaba took a leave of absence.
It did seem odd timing to us as it took place right in the wake of Sharon Osbourne being ousted from the CBS daytime staple. That exit obviously followed a well-publicized internal investigation over that infamous heated conversation about racism last month. Sharon lashed out at Sheryl Underwood, assuming she, like her friend Piers Morgan, was about to be labeled racist. Ironically, it was the lashing out that got her called out.
Related: Holly Robinson Peete’s Mom Lobbed New Bullying Accusations Against Sharon
One might assume a second co-host leaving in the same month was related. However, Carrie Ann leaving the show is supposedly temporary — and nominally related to her health issues. Explaining the move in an Instagram video on Monday, she said:
“Hi everyone, so I wanted to let you know personally that I have decided to take a leave of absence from The Talk to focus on my well-being. I know you guys understand, health is the most important thing. So, I appreciate your support, I appreciate the love and support from The Talk family, and I hope to be back soon. Take care and I’ll keep you updated. Thank you.”
In her caption she specifically said she’d update fans on her progress — but notice she didn’t say with what. We know she had COVID back in December and mentioned in January she was still experiencing some lingering symptoms, something that is happening with a fraction of unlucky cases.
But she hasn’t mentioned that since, and didn’t specify it here either. We could also assume this was related to her struggles with autoimmune disorders, as she tagged the post #autoimmunewarrior. Carrie Ann has been open about her battles with lupus, Sjögren syndrome, fibromyalgia, spinal stenosis, and chronic fatigue syndrome, among other health issues. We could assume… but she didn’t say specifically.
All she said was she needed to focus on her well-being. Hmm.
We completely took all of this at face value at first, but we recently spotted a report from last week that casts this decision in a whole new light.
Yes, last Friday — before Carrie Ann announced her leave of absence — The Sun claimed she was about “ready to quit” due not to health but to a secret feud with Sheryl! Their source revealed:
“Carrie Ann and Sheryl do not like each other. They have faked it on air, but Sheryl has a hot and cold energy, and made Carrie Ann’s job very difficult.”
Since Sharon left Sheryl has taken up the leadership role, and this insider says Carrie Ann is NOT ready to deal with that — because she can’t stand the comedian!
“Now that Sheryl has seized power of the show, the thought of being there makes her physically sick.”
The source goes on to say she’d rather leave than get squeezed out by Sheryl, which is what she sees is happening since the power vacuum left by Sharon:
“She is a smart businesswoman and believes that her role is being diminished right in front of her eyes.”
Wow. We always thought of The Talk as the friendly one — leave all the drama and infighting and power grabs for The View, right?
But it sounds like there may be just as much animosity behind the scenes? If that’s true, and they really dislike one another, Sheryl could only be pleased at Carrie Ann’s decision, right? See how she broke the news to viewers on Monday’s show and decide for yourselves…
Inneresting note: if the show’s ratings continue to plummet like they have been, Carrie Ann is going to look like quite the smart businesswoman indeed jumping ship early.
We don’t know if it was Sharon’s exit, the handling of the scandal in general (when you’re the hot topic of the day, you’re going to go off the air??), or perhaps folks seeing behind the curtain on what they thought was a true group of friends, but the show is currently the lowest rated daytime network show in its slot.
What do YOU think of all the Talk drama? Has it turned you off of the show?? Let us know in the comments (below)!
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