Former ‘The Talk’ Host Holly Robinson Peete Says Sharon Osbourne Complained She Was Too ‘Ghetto’

Jordan Moreau
·3 min read

Holly Robinson Peete, one of the original hosts of CBS’ “The Talk,” has resurfaced claims that her co-host Sharon Osbourne complained Peete was too “ghetto” for the show, resulting in Peete’s dismissal. Peete and fellow host Leah Remini were released from “The Talk” after its first season in 2011.

“I’m old enough to remember when Sharon complained that I was too ‘ghetto’ for ‘The Talk’…then I was gone,” Peete tweeted on Friday. “I bring this up now [because] I was mortified watching the disrespectful condescending tone she took [with] her co-host who remained calm & respectful…she HAD to.”

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Remini has made the same claim against Osbourne in the past, saying in a Twitter Q&A in 2012 that Osbourne called her and Peete “ghetto” and had asked for them to be fired.

“Sharon thought me and Holly were ‘Ghetto’, (her words) we were not funny, awkward and didn’t know ourselves,” Remini wrote on Twitter at the time. In response to another question she tweeted “Sharon said she asked [for] us to be fired.”

Osbourne refuted Remini’s claims the next day, saying she had nothing to do with her exit.

Related: Trump called Holly Robinson Peete the 'N-word' on 'Apprentice'

“In response to Leah Remini’s continuous comments that I had her fired from ‘The Talk,’ let me just go on the record to say…I had absolutely nothing to do [with] her departure from the show & have no idea why she continues to take to Twitter to spread this false gossip…Leah knows that I have never been in the position to hire or fire anyone on the show…It’s been seven months. It’s time to move on,” Osbourne tweeted.

In an interview with Hollywood Reporter in late 2011, Peete said she didn’t know why she was axed from the talk show. “Still to this day, I don’t know. I speculate in my mind, but in trying to move forward all I can say is, ‘Hey, is it because of my performance?’ I don’t think so.”

Osbourne, who has been a host on “The Talk” for all 11 seasons, is currently under fire for defending Piers Morgan after his comments about Meghan Markle after Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.

On “Good Morning Britain” this week, Morgan said he didn’t believe Markle’s claims of bullying within the Royal Family and the suicidal thoughts she experienced as a result of the high stress. Morgan immediately received backlash and quit the show, while Osbourne was one of the few celebrities to voice support for him.

Facing her own backlash, Osbourne apologized on Friday for her statement, saying “Please hear me when I say I do not condone racism, misogyny or bullying. I should have been more specific about that in my tweet. I will always support freedom of speech, but not I see how I unintentionally didn’t make that clear distinction.”

A CBS spokesperson did not not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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