Sheryl Underwood reveals why she didn’t respond to Osbourne’s texts
She does 'not have any phone call, missed or received, that I can find in my phone,' Underwood said, 'but there were text messages sent to me.'
Sheryl Underwood, co-host of CBS’ daytime show The Talk, said she didn’t reply to text messages from former colleague Sharon Osbourne because they were coming during an investigation at the network.
Monday’s show was the first one to air after last month’s extended hiatus and investigation into an on-air confrontation by Osbourne toward Underwood that occurred when Osbourne defended her friend Piers Morgan’s racist comments about Meghan Markle.
Underwood joined her fellow Talk hostesses Carrie Ann Inaba, Amanda Kloots and Elaine Welteroth, along with special guests to revisit the tense moments and find paths to heal and move forward.
“When you go back and watch what happened in that episode, you will see two Black women walking the same tightrope that Black women are walking every single day in the workplace,” Welteroth opined. “We knew that we had to stay composed in that situation, even in the face of someone who was A, not listening, and B, who went off the rails into disrespect.”
As theGRIO previously reported, Osbourne shared text messages that she claimed to have sent Underwood following their heated on-air conversation about Morgan.
“Sheryl, My heart is heavy and I’m deeply saddened by the events that transpired on Wednesday. I don’t want to lose my true friend over this,” the first message reads, according to screenshots reportedly obtained by The Daily Mail. “I’m sorry for telling you to f— off during the break, I’m sorry for accusing you of fake crying while we were live on air I’m sorry for losing my temper with you. I felt shocked, scared, and saddened by what felt like was a blind-sided attack. You know me. You know how I’ve always had your back.”
In a second text, Osbourne asks, “Is there anything I can do to help you heal?”
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A source told Page Six that Osbourne was disappointed that Underwood did not reply.
“I want to clear something up,” Underwood said on air Monday. “There was a discussion about Sharon and I communicating with each other. I have not spoken to, and do not have any phone call, missed or received, that I can find in my phone.”
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“But there were text messages sent to me,” she continued, “and the reason I did not respond to those text messages is because they were coming to me during the internal investigation.”
Underwood also told The Talk viewers the confrontation was traumatic for her, saying she felt “fearful and apprehensive. It is difficult to go back to that day because I feel the trauma. That really scared me.”
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