THE Talks hosts including Sheryl Underwood “will give an approved statement” about Sharon Osbourne’s exit in the show return.
CBS announced Sharon, 68, quit The Talk after her on-air fight with co-host Sheryl, 58, in March, as she received backlash for “racially insensitive” comments while defending Piers Morgan’s criticism of Meghan Markle.
A source exclusively told The Celeb Report remaining hosts Sheryl, Carrie Ann Inaba, Amanda Kloots and Elaine Welteroth will address Sharon’s exit during the return episode on April 12.
The source said: “Mrs. O’s exit will be addressed, but that will be scripted and approved by the powers that be to make sure it is phrased correctly to do the least damage.”
Sheryl is also expected to address the altercation, as the source added: “Sheryl has faced backlash from Mrs. O’s fans who blame her for setting Sharon up to look bad on the air.
“She will be expressing regret that things happened the way they did, but she will select her words very carefully.”
The source continued that staff members will miss Sharon, who has been on the show since Season One.
The source added: “Mrs. O was always nice and welcoming to everyone at the show. Her dressing room door was always open to pop in for a quick chat.”
CBS did not respond to The Celeb Report’s request for comment.
Sheryl spoke out about the fight for the first time in a three-part series on her podcast Sharon Walks Away, as she revealed the two have not spoken since the confrontation.
Sheryl claimed the questions did not come from higher ups, despite Sharon’s claims she was “blindsided” and “set up.”
Before the fight, the comedian said she was being mindful about steering the conversation “in a way that was not perceived as attacking.”
She said: “In my gut, I thought this was going to go left. And so I wanted to put it in its proper order, be very calm, but there were a few people that criticized me on that. ‘Why do you give any f**ks about somebody’s feelings? They give no f**ks about yours.’ It’s not about the reaction of the person, it’s about me and who I’m trying to evolve and mature to be.”
Sheryl claimed Sharon never reached out to her directly to apologize.
Sheryl added: “Sometimes in life, something happens and you go, ‘Gosh, if I just would’ve…’ There’s nothing I could have ‘just would’ve.’ This was going to happen, out of my control.
“Sometimes you don’t want to know what you know, you don’t want to feel and hear what you feel and hear, don’t want to accept what you have to accept.”
The Celeb Report previously reported there are no plans to replace Sharon at this time.
A source told The Celeb Report: “The show will return to air without a fifth host.”
“Mrs. O is irreplaceable. She is a unique, outspoken talent that doesn’t exist anywhere else. There is no obvious heir apparent to take her seat right now.”
The source added that the show is also facing “issues of ratings and budget.”
On the March 10 episode, Sharon addressed her decision to stand by her longtime friend Piers, resulting in a blowout fight with co-host Sheryl.
Sharon told her co-hosts on the show: “Why is it that because I supported a longtime friend and work colleague for years, people go ‘well you must be racist because he’s racist.’
“No. I support his freedom of speech. I’m not racist and neither is Piers racist. What have I ever said about anybody that’s racist? It’s not within me. It’s not in my soul.”
Sheryl claimed Piers showed “racial implications with the way he spoke about Meghan” the last time he appeared on their talk show.
Sheryl explained: “It’s not the exact words of racism it’s the implication and the reaction to it. To not want to address that because she is a Black woman and to try to dismiss it, that’s what makes it racist.
“But right now I’m talking to a woman that is my friend and I don’t want anybody here to watch this and say we’re attacking you for being racist.”
An emotional Sharon then rolled her eyes before saying: “I think it’s too late. I think that seed’s already sewn.”
A source told The Celeb Report following the argument that both sides initially “refused to apologize,” though Sharon later did issue an apology on her Instagram page following the argument.
After finishing up the week, the show went on a hiatus as the network conducted an “internal review.”
CBS then announced Sharon had quit the show, as part of the statement read: “Sharon Osbourne has decided to leave The Talk. 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. We also did not find any evidence that CBS executives orchestrated the discussion or blindsided any of the hosts.”
A source told The Celeb Report following her departure that Sharon “remains livid” and “lost trust in the network.”
Sharon was “utterly bewildered by the way” CBS bosses made it “look like she was racist,” the source said.
Before Sharon quit, she told Daily Mail: “They’d set me up. The producers never told me.
“If they’d said to me, listen, the execs here aren’t happy with what’s gone on with you and Piers – we’ve got to try and sort this situation out, the girls are going to ask you these questions, blah, blah. Bring me in on it. Don’t blindside me.
“If they’d said these execs aren’t happy, I’d have worked on it with them. But give me a chance. Don’t bloody surprise attack me on national TV live for 20 minutes when it was meant to be four other segments.”
The Celeb Report previously reported there are cancellation fears, as ratings have been low since host Marie Osmond left the show last year.
A source claimed: “Cancellation has to be on the minds of execs because this show is a bigger headache than it’s worth dealing with. Ratings are still in the toilet and now the racism scandal makes it even less appealing to viewers.
“Many have vowed not to watch without Sharon on the show. Without Sharon there is no star power.”
Viewers have also vowed to boycott the show after Sharon’s departure.
Piers Morgan has even called for Sheryl’s firing from the show for claiming Sharon is “racist.”
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Piers said: “[Sharon] was taken down very deliberately, and it was all because she dared to tweet that I was entitled to my own opinion.
“And because she said that on Twitter she was attacked on her own show by her co-hosts who said that that effectively was her supporting someone who said ‘racist’ things.
“And when Sharon got annoyed and said, ‘What did he say that was racist,’ they couldn’t say anything because I’ve never have. Now Sharon’s gone too.”
He added: “I’m staggered Sheryl Underwood is still on that show. How can you be on a show when you forcibly brand someone a racist? And when you’re challenged about it you can’t produce any evidence.
“Isn’t that by the Sharon Osbourne scale of dismissal a fireable offense? I’d said so. But there lies the hypocrisy at the heart of this debate.”
