Alyssa Milano Says She Didn’t Get Shannen Doherty Fired From ‘Charmed’

Alyssa Milano has responded to claims that she was the one who got Shannen Doherty fired from Charmed in 2001.

The actress spoke during a Who’s the Boss? panel at MegaCon Orlando on Friday, saying that the claims made by her former costar Holly Marie Combs on Doherty’s podcast in December 2023, made her “sad.”

“I will just say that I’m sad,” Milano said. “I don’t think it’s really that I’m sad for me or for my life or how it does or does not affect my life. I’m the most sad for the fans. I am the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day almost a quarter of a century later still happening.”

Milano continued: “I’m sad that people can’t move past it. I’m sad that we all can’t just celebrate the success of a show that meant so much to all of us.”

She added that her life was no walk in the park around the time Doherty was fired.

“I have worked super hard in my life, in the last 25 years, to heal all of my trauma,” Milano said, noting that the process included healing more trauma than just “the trauma that I experienced while shooting [the show].”

She noted that she now aims to be a “healed person that helps heal people” and mentioned that she would be open to discussing any long-standing issues with her former costars on stage at some point.

The Insatiable star said she’s already apologized for whatever her part was in the drama that went down on the Charmed set, so she doesn’t know “how else to fix it.”

“I even don’t know if I could put myself out there any more than I already have to try to fix it,” she said, calling the situation “heartbreaking” and “uncomfortable.”

She concluded by apologizing to Charmed fans “who love us anyway,” saying that their love was healing for her.

Milano then took to Instagram on Saturday to further discuss the situation between her, Doherty, and Combs.

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“I don’t know one other show that has had the success that Charmed had where the cast still speaks ill of the experience a quarter of a century later,” she wrote in a caption of the post that featured a transcript from MegaCon.

Milano added that everything that went down was documented and that she was told Doherty and Combs weren’t open to mediation, despite a mediator being available on set.

“It was then recommended by this mediator, after collecting testimony from cast AND crew — what changes should be made if the show was going to continue,” she wrote.

“I did not have the power to get anyone fired. Once Shannen left, we had 5 more successful seasons and I am forever grateful,” she said at the end of the caption, noting that late TV producer Aaron Spelling along with the TV studio decided to fire Doherty.

Combs had claimed in December 2023 that she was told Milano refused to continue working with Doherty.

According to Combs, producer Jonathan Levin told her: “We didn’t mean to, but we’ve been backed into this corner — we’re basically in this position where it’s one or the other. We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen] and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment.”

“I lived a year after that sort of replaying everything in my brain and really trying to find those moments,” Doherty said on the podcast of her time working with Milano. “I don’t ever remember being mean to her on set.”