Sharon Osbourne and The Talk’s former hosts ‘refuse’ to return for series finale to avoid ‘vindictive’ Sheryl Underwood

SHARON Osbourne and other former hosts of The Talk have refused to return for the series finale to avoid Sheryl Underwood, who a source claims has been “vindictive” to her co-stars.

The Talk’s final episode of the series will air on Friday, December 20, as Sheryl Underwood, Natalie Morales, Amanda Kloots, Jerry O’Connell and Akbar Gbajabiamila will say goodbye to the CBS series.

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As The U.S. Sun has reported, Sheryl, 61, has been accused of creating a “toxic work environment” and “forcing out” previous hosts.

Now, The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal some former hosts, including Sharon Osbourne, have even turned down returning for the season finale to avoid reuniting with the show’s main star.

A source previously told The U.S. Sun, “The show asked some of the former hosts to come back for the final season. They all said no because of Sheryl. They didn’t want to sit with her on the panel. 

“I believe Sharon was asked back. There was a conversation, but she would never sit on that panel.”

The source claimed Sheryl has a “tricky personality,” as the host “gets along with you, keeps you close, but then will do something vindictive.”

“There have been a few tiffs between some of the hosts and Sheryl,” the insider alleged.

“Sheryl gloated about being the top dog. She walked around like that, like ‘I’m number one.’ Everyone tiptoes around her. 

“If she felt she wasn’t equal she would be very demanding.”

The insider claimed Sheryl was “very difficult to work with.”

“She would stop talking to people and wouldn’t come out of her dressing room. Production was slowed down because of it.”

For the final episode, the insider said the show has “nothing too exciting planned.”

A source added, “There are no major surprises. They’ll probably have a cake for the final episode.”

A rep for The Talk did not respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.

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The U.S. Sun previously reported on the “tense” final months on The Talk set. 

One source claimed to The U.S. Sun, “Sheryl is unreasonable to deal with. She’s forced out Carrie Ann [Inaba] and Sharon [Osbourne] and the staff is still reeling from it.

“She refuses to speak to people and walks out of meetings if they don’t go her way and creates a toxic work environment by refusing to take direction from higher-ups.

“She was the catalyst for both Carrie Ann and Sharon’s exits.”

SHARON’S EXIT

Sharon, 72, left The Talk in March 2021 after a heated on-air exchange with co-host Sheryl over race.

Sharon, who had been with the show since season one, defended comments made by British TV host and her close friend Piers Morgan about Meghan Markle.

She told Sheryl at the time of the on-air argument, “Educate me, tell me when you have heard him say racist things… I very much feel like I’m about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend, who many people think is a racist, so that makes me a racist?”

Accusations of racist comments led to an internal investigation by CBS.

The network claimed Sharon’s behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode “did not align with our values for a respectful workplace.”

Then in March 2021, Sharon claimed on The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM that Sheryl was sent to anger management three times for “mistreating producers.” 

During the interview, Sharon alleged, “Sheryl had three complaints about her from different producers about the way she treated them.  

“They called me and I said, ‘You cannot get rid of Sheryl. There is no way. She can’t take that. You just can’t do it.’

“So they sent her to anger management. So, it’s alright to treat producers that way, but I can’t say anything to a co-host.”

A month later, Carrie Ann, 56, announced she was leaving the series after a brief absence to focus on her well-being.

The insider previously told The U.S. Sun, “The other four current hosts are lovely and so kind to everyone but Sheryl has always made things really difficult and caused the show a lot of problems. 

“The network has done absolutely nothing to stop this behavior.”

A second source claimed, “When Sharon left is when things changed. Everyone loved her. It’s never recovered since then. The staff and crew still miss Sharon.”

ISSUES WITH SHERYL

Similar claims against Sheryl date back to 2021, as The U.S. Sun previously reported she forbade producers from speaking to her directly. 

The insider alleged, “Sheryl will not allow producers to speak to her directly. When any of the producers have questions about their segments they are required to go through Sheryl’s personal producer. 

“She fields all questions and answers related to Sheryl and communicates them to each individual producer.

“This arrangement came from Sheryl after learning staff was complaining to HR that she was mean and combative to deal with. 

“Sheryl decided to protect herself from future claims by banning anyone from dealing with her directly. The system works because no one really wants to deal with Sheryl.”

SHERYL VS NATALIE

When Natalie, 52, joined the show in 2021, she too had tension with Sheryl.

A source claimed to The U.S. Sun at the time, “Sheryl and Natalie seemingly get along fine, but there is some unspoken tension. 

“Since the moderator position has been taken away from Sheryl and given to Natalie, Sheryl can’t help interjecting herself and stepping on Natalie’s role and cueing the other hosts. She asks what about you? Have anything to add?

“Natalie won’t say anything, but you can tell it’s annoying and borderline disrespectful.”

Cast Changes

The daytime show has seen a rotation of panelists over the years.

The program first premiered on October 18, 2010.

Its inaugural season’s panel consisted of Sara Gilbert, Leah Remini, Holly Robinson Peete, Julie Chen, and Sharon Osbourne.

The lineup changed several times and also included Sara Gilbert, Marissa Jaret Winoku, Aisha Tyler, Elaine Welteroth, Eve, and Marie Osmond.

The final cast is Sheryl Underwood, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, and Jerry O’Connell.

During its run, the series has won three of its 18 Emmy Award nominations.

In April this year, a new soap titled Beyond the Gates was greenlit by CBS and is slated to premiere in February, taking the time slot of The Talk.

END OF AN ERA

In April, CBS executives announced The Talk would be ending after 15 years. 

The statement read, “The Talk broke new ground when it launched 14 years ago by returning daytime talk to CBS with a refreshing and award-winning format.

“Throughout the years, it has been a key program on CBS’ top-rated daytime line-up as it brought timely, important, and entertaining topics and discussions into living rooms around the globe.

“It goes without saying that hosting and producing a year-round talk show is no easy task.

“We express our sincere gratitude to our amazing hosts Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell, and Sheryl Underwood, our executive producer-showrunner Rob Crabbe, and the hardworking producing team and crew.

“We also want to acknowledge our former show hosts and colleagues who contributed throughout the seasons.”

The network ended, “We truly appreciate the skill, creativity, and dedication everyone involved brought to the show every day.”

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