By Sammie Jones-
Sharon Osbourne is unlikely to return to the U.S chat show. The talk, following an escalating race row which has led to a 2018 clip in which she refused to acknowledge Meghan Markle as a Black woman.
The clip is being widely shared on social media in the wake of Osbourne’s recent comments about the Duchess and Piers Morgan, and exacerbating an already bad situation. Despite Ms Osborne’s humble apology, her critics are beginning to view her more as racist- an charge she denies.
Osbourne has admitted that she “got too personal” with co-presenter Sheryl Underwood, and that she feared the row had escalated too far for her to return to the show. The Talk has been taken off air and has extended its hiatus until next week. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, Osbourne stressed her apology and said she should have appreciated that Underwood was “hurting”
However, the video, which has circulated on social media in recent days, has led to further charges of racism against Ms Osbourne, and separately, lack of awareness .
In the clip, cohost Sheryl Underwood said that the Duchess of Sussex “brought Blackness to the royal family”, but Osbourne disagreed.
“She ain’t Black,” Osbourne said during the segment.
Her cohosts then responded back by informing Osbourne that Meghan was “half Black”. To this, Osbourne said: “Yeah, I know, but she doesn’t look Black.”
The other members of the segment did not agree with Osbourne’s assessment of Meghan’s race. Rapper Eve responded: “Black people come in all different colours. That’s a whole other different discussion about how Black you look or not look, or how white you look. That’s a whole discussion we don’t need to have.”
Mounting Criticism
Criticism has ben mounting against Osborne since last week, ever since she defended controversial TV presenter Piers Morgan over comments he made, dismissing Meghan’s account of mental health issues and racism, on his then show, Good Morning Britain. He was forced to step down after 41,000 complaints, and a complaint from Meghan Markle’s representatives.
Osbourne defended Morgan during her show last week in a heated exchange with her cohost Underwood led to the view that she was treated her black co-host in a condescending manner, and being racist by accommodating Piers Morgan’s insensitivity to her troubling experiences.
Osbourne later claimed to have “panicked” and felt “blindsided” by her cohosts on-air, when discussing the situation with Morgan. She added that this caused her to become “defensive”.