SORRY, NOT SORRY CELEBRITY NEWS
CBS gagging ‘The Talk’ for another week
CBS announced Tuesday “The Talk” would remain on hiatus for another week, as reports surfaced about new racist claims against host Sharon Osbourne.
The host came under fire last week for supporting Piers Morgan, who said he didn’t believe Meghan Markle in the interview she and husband, Prince Harry, gave to Oprah Winfrey. That sparked an on-air conflict between Osbourne and fellow host Sheryl Underwood.
While arguing with Underwood, who is Black, Osbourne (center in photo below) had to be bleeped out. Osbourne later apologized, but CBS still announced it would not do new shows on Monday or Tuesday.
On Tuesday, journalist Yashar Ali posted a story saying Osbourne made racist remarks about former host Julie Chen, who is Asian. The source for Ali’s story was former “Talk” host Leah Remini, who also says in the article that Osbourne made offensive comments about another former cohost, Sara Gilbert, who is gay.
In a statement to CNN, a representative for Osbourne denied she spewed the bile Remini alleged, saying, “The only thing worse than a disgruntled former employee is a disgruntled former talk show host.”
The spokesman, Howard Bragman, said that the only host to be with “The Talk” for its entire run has treated her colleagues well.
“For 11 years Sharon has been kind, collegial and friendly with her hosts as evidenced by throwing them parties, inviting them to her home in the U.K. and other gestures of kindness too many to name,” Bragman said. “Sharon is disappointed but unfazed and hardly surprised by the lies, the recasting of history and the bitterness coming out at this moment.”
After the new allegations surfaced, the network said Tuesday, “CBS is committed to a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace across all of our productions. We’re also very mindful of the important concerns expressed and discussions taking place regarding events on ‘The Talk.’ This includes a process where all voices are heard, claims are investigated and appropriate action is taken where necessary.” artist — knew that the run of the mill of usual suspects of book readers wouldn’t cut it for this project.
“[The book company] sent me 15 names and some of the people on the list had won Grammys and all kinds of awards and accolades, and I was like but for ‘The Coldest Winter Ever’ this is irrelevant — it has to be somebody that the hood loves,” she revealed.
“It has to be somebody that the men and the women love. Somebody’s whose voice is soothing and sultry. Somebody who’s considered beautiful, somebody’s who’s considered soft enough and cool enough, not a pushover but still sweet. Nia Long, to me, fit that description.”
The Bronx native performed a sort of litmus test among her siblings to see if she was on the right track with her choice of the threetime NAACP Image Award-winning actress.
“When I asked my biological sisters … everybody agreed,” Sister Souljah shared. “And if you can get all the women in the house to agree on another woman, that’s the one you go with. So Nia Long, I thought, was a beautiful choice to read the audiobook.”
The 57-year-old married mother of one had no desire to self-narrate the book.
“I want to keep my voice, the Sister Souljah voice, distinct from the Winter Santiaga voice,” she said. “I don’t think those two voices can really mix. And not only that, when I think of anything for Winter, I think what would Winter want? She would approve of Nia.”
“The Final Solution: Slavery’s Back in Effect” lyricist hopes to one day write her own story.
“I think it’s important for people that are in the public eye to write their autobiography … because after you are no longer here, all kinds of people will come and say all kinds of things that are not true and you can’t dispute it, you can’t debate it,” she explained.
“And if you haven’t left a … record about your life then you can not be memorialized properly or remembered properly.”