Sharon Osbourne is ‘angry’ and ‘hurt’ since getting fired from ‘The Talk’

Sharon Osbourne said she’s feeling “hurt” and “angry” since losing her job as co-host on CBS’ “The Talk” last month.

On Friday, Osbourne appeared on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” to discuss being called a racist and the aftermath of “The Talk” drama. It was her first interview since leaving the long-running talk show last month.

“I’m so many things,” Osbourne replied to Maher’s “How are you?”

Maher and Osbourne then recapped the events that lead to Osbourne losing her job.

“[Piers Morgan] was called a racist and lost his job, and you were called a racist and lost your job. Do I have it right?” Maher said in his summary of the incident. “Who’s the racist and why? This is what I’m trying to figure out.”

“Me too,” Osbourne said, shaking her head. “I’ve been called so many things in my life. I am so used to being called names but racist is one I will not take.”

“In other words, you have to agree with everything Meghan Markle says or you’re a racist?” Maher added. “Is this the standard now?... Unless you agree with every person of color then you’re a racist? That seems insane.”

“And I’m sure the royal family was cold to her. Could that have been because of racism? Possibly,” Maher continued, calling Queen Elizabeth II an “old bag.” “But also I think they’re just cold to everyone.”

The controversy began March 10 after a heated exchange between Osbourne and her co-hosts, particularly Sheryl Underwood. In that episode, Osbourne defended her pal Morgan, who quit his “Good Morning Britain” gig, against allegations of racism toward Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, following her Oprah Winfrey interview alongside husband Prince Harry. She said at the time that she didn’t agree with his opinions about the duchess, only with his right to have them.

Osbourne asked Underwood to explain to her what Morgan had said about Meghan that was racist, then added she felt like she was going 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.”

When Underwood tried to respond, Osbourne cut her off. After a commercial break, Osbourne told a teary-eyed Underwood not to cry. “If anyone should be crying, it should be me,” she said. Osbourne publicly apologized the next day.

The exchange lead to an internal investigation and ultimately Osbourne’s departure from “The Talk” on March 26. The show went on hiatus while it conducted its review.

“It’s not fair, because it isn’t about being a racist,” Osbourne told Maher. “It’s about maybe about not knowing what is correct and woke for your language that day, because it changes from day to day,” she said, mentioning Robin DiAngelo’s 2018 book “White Fragility” about race relations in the U.S.

“The idea in there is that you have two choices if you are white,” Maher added. “You are either a racist or a racist and you don’t know it. I’m not down with that.”

But despite the controversy, Osbourne said she was doing OK. “I’m fine. I’m a fighter.”