Julie Chen Moonves says Sharon Osbourne's exit from “The Talk ”was handled 'really horribly'

Julie Chen Moonves says her former cohost Sharon Osbourne's exit from The Talk was handled "horribly" and "very sad to see."

Chen Moonves shared her thoughts on Osbourne's 2021 departure — which transpired after Osbourne defended her friend, the divisive Piers Morgan, over comments he made about Meghan Markle — on Tuesday's episode of Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live.

"I think the whole thing was handled really horribly," Chen Moonves said. "It was very sad to see."

Cohen replied, "It's a show called The Talk. I thought they should've gone on and talked it out."

"Yes," Chen Moonves said in response. "I don't think people knew what they were doing and getting themselves into. The whole thing was a horrible mess. It was [like] watching a train wreck."

Chen Moonves said the last time she spoke with Osbourne was about eight months before her departure.

D Dipasupil/Getty Images Julie Chen and Sharon Osbourne

Chen Moonves and Osbourne had been cohosts of the CBS daytime talk show since it launched in 2010. Chen Moonves stepped down in 2018, after her husband, former CBS chairman Les Moonves, was accused of sexual assault and harassment. Osbourne departed in 2021 after a heated on-air exchange with cohost Sheryl Underwood over Morgan's incendiary remarks about Markle. The fallout was swift, with multiple sources, including former cohost Leah Remini, accusing Osbourne of bullying on set.

Remini and the sources claimed that Osbourne frequently referred to Chen Moonves as "wonton" and "slanty eyes," and called fellow cohost Sara Gilbert, who is a lesbian, a "p---- licker" and "fish eater."

Chen Moonves has been making the rounds while promoting her new audio memoir, But First, God, which details her own sudden departure from The Talk. She recently told Good Morning America that she was forced out in the wake of the allegations against her husband. "I felt stabbed in the back," she said.

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