After engaging in a contentious on-air argument over racism with Osbourne a year and a half prior, Underwood stated confidentially, “I have an equation that I employ — time plus distance equals clarity.”
For Sheryl Underwood, time tends to all wounds.
The 58-year-old has been on CBS’s The Talk for 12 seasons, and she has seen a number of co-hosts come and go, but Sharon Osbourne’s abrupt exit impacted her in a unique way.
While on the set to celebrate the season 13 launch of the show, Underwood exclusively, “I miss her.” I have a formula that I use: time plus distance equals clarity. When you work in the daylight with someone, do 220 performances, four days a week, travel with them, talk to them, you can’t forget.
After getting into a contentious argument with Underwood, 58, regarding racism, the 69-year-old British actor was let go from the program. After Osbourne backed longtime friend Piers Morgan’s remarks regarding Meghan Markle’s explosive 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the two brought up the subject.
At the time, Osbourne remarked, “I very much feel like I’m about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend who many people consider to be a racist, therefore that makes me a racist?”
She pleaded with Underwood to ‘teach’ her while requesting that she suppress her tears. Later, Osbourne claimed that CBS executives had set up the incident to surprise her. Underwood, for her part, questioned how her co-host and friend could support Morgan’s comments.
After Sharon Osbourne left The Talk, Sheryl Underwood says they haven’t spoken.
Underwood said on the radio a month after the incident in March 2021: “I felt I was having a chat with a buddy, but I also realized I had to be an example.”
She continued, “I didn’t want to be seen as the furious Black woman.
Underwood continued, “I tried to be calm and focused, and it’s hard to go back to that day because I just feel the horror,” adding that she felt “stuck.”
After a two-week break and a CBS internal inquiry, Osbourne joined Underwood, co-hosts Elaine Welteroth, Amanda Kloots, and Carrie Ann Inaba on the program.
Underwood decided not to respond at the time due to the investigation and the fact that she believed Osbourne had not fully apologized for her remarks. Osbourne even texted her old coworker.
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But as a result of the distance she took from the circumstance, Underwood, who still maintains in touch with a couple of her other co-hosts, has moved on.
With a smile, Underwood admits, “I’m still nosy. We just saw Sara Gilbert. One of our executive producers, Heather Gray, passed away, leaving us with the blueprint for the season and her spirit. [There was] a memorial service on the lot. We felt so loved and appreciated, and Sara Gilbert came. It was just so nice to see her. We all still talk to each other in different ways, and you see Julie [Chen] at Big Brother on the lot. We text and talk. Eve, with the baby. We all keep in touch as much as we can.