Sharon Osbourne Is Denying Allegations Of Racism And Claims She Was ‘Set Up’ As A ‘Sacrificial Lamb’ On ‘The Talk’

After her on-air meltdown defending Piers Morgan’s remarks about Meghan Markle caused The Talk to go into an extended hiatus as CBS conducts an internal investigation, Sharon Osbourne is now claiming she was set up by the show and has been offered up as a “sacrificial lamb.” The embattled The Talk host made the remarks during an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, when she accused Sheryl Underwood and Elaine Welteroth of reading her questions from their cue cards that were not on Osbourne’s cards. However, Osbourne also admits that she was warned ahead of time that she would be asked about her tweet defending Morgan, which she has since apologized for. Although, the sincerity of that apology has been contested.

Via Entertainment Tonight:

Osbourne claims that she was blindsided by Underwood questioning her defense of Morgan and was not sufficiently prepared by showrunners and producers. She believes her co-hosts “had preparation, they had written questions for them.” Osbourne says that eight minutes before taping began, one of the showrunners did ask if she would be OK taking questions about Morgan and how she would feel if “maybe one of [the women] doesn’t agree with you.” To which, Osbourne said, “I’ll answer whatever they want me to answer.”

Osbourne further added of the situation, “Sheryl turns around and asks me this question and… she was reading it off a card. It wasn’t on my cards. And then Elaine [Welteroth]’s reading her questions and I’m like, ‘I’ve been set up,'” she declared. “They’re setting me up. My anger was like, I cannot believe this, I’m your sacrificial lamb.”

Despite accusing her co-hosts of “setting her up” by asking her questions that she agreed to answer, Osbourne said she would like to return to The Talk and hash this all out because she understands that she “got too personal” with Underwood while defending Morgan. “I love Sheryl, I’ve apologized to Sheryl, she’s not gotten back and I can understand. Sheryl needs her time,” Obsourne said.

However, the situation might not go away that easily. Following the highly controversial spat, new allegations have emerged that accuse Osbourne of having a lengthy history of making racist remarks to her co-hosts. According to a report from journalist Yashir Ali, Osbourne’s former co-host Leah Remini has accused her of using racial slurs to describe Julie Chen and getting Holly Robinson-Peete fired from the show. Following the report, CBS extended The Talk‘s hiatus from two days to over a week, so that the network could conduct “a process where all voices are heard, claims are investigated and appropriate action is taken where necessary.”