Sharon Osbourne Reacts to The Talk Cancellation Years After Her Exit: 'It Took Longer Than I Thought'

The Talk’s cancellation was a long time coming for Sharon Osbourne.

During the May 21 episode of the celebrity family’s podcast The Osbournes, Sharon, husband Ozzy Osbourne, daughter Kelly Osbourne and son Jack Osbourne discussed the “worst, stupidest, most dumb thing” they have said publicly.

Kelly, 39, answered with her blunder on The View, which Jack, 38, segued into a chat about the CBS talk show. “Speaking of shows such as The View, the f---ing Talk’s got canceled. That didn’t take long,” Jack remarked.

“It took longer than I thought,” said Sharon, who joined the show in 2010 as one of the original panelists before leaving in 2021. 

The TV personality, 71, claimed, “Even though they were losing money on it, ‘cause the advertising was down because they were losing viewers, they were propping it up.”

Jack and Sharon expressed their remorse for the crew, but the former America’s Got Talent judge found solace in the fact that they received “a good heads up” to search for other jobs ahead of the cancellation. 

“It was a good memory mostly,” Ozzy, 75, added, to which Sharon agreed — particularly at the show’s outset with co-hosts Julie Chen Moonves, Leah Remini, Sara Gilbert, Holly Robinson Peete and Marissa Jaret Winokur. 

“There were some good women on it. Very good women,” Sharon praised, shouting out Eve, Aisha Tyler and creator Gilbert, who she called “funny as f—.”  

In March 2021, CBS announced that Sharon decided to exit The Talk following a heated exchange with cohost Sheryl Underwood over the music manager’s controversial defense of Piers Morgan departing Good Morning Britain after racially insensitive remarks. 

"Did I like everything he said? Did I agree with what he said? No," Osbourne argued on the broadcast. "Because it's his opinion. It's not my opinion ... I support him for his freedom of speech, and he's my friend."

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Underwood, 60, posed the question of what Sharon would say to people who feel that she is giving Morgan “validation or safe haven to something that he has uttered that is racist.” 

The conversation quickly turned emotional, with Sharon on the verge of tears saying, “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?"

After the episode aired, the show went on a two-day hiatus that was later extended as the network conducted an internal review.

“The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home. As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon's behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace,” a statement from CBS read. 

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Three years and four seasons later, The Talk concluded its 14-year run in December 2024. CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach and CBS Studios prexy David Stapf wrote in a joint statement that the program “broke new ground” with a “refreshing and award-winning format.” Thanking the current host and crew, the executives concluded their farewell with a message of gratitude to viewers, guests and former hosts.

“We also want to acknowledge our former show hosts and colleagues who contributed throughout the seasons. We truly appreciate the skill, creativity, and dedication everyone involved brought to the show every day,” the statement read.