Shannen Doherty Says She Was Fired From ‘Charmed’ Because of Alyssa Milano

On the latest episode of her podcast Let’s Be Clear, Shannen Doherty sat down with former Charmed co-star Holly Marie Combs and revealed that she didn’t leave the show of her own volition, but rather claims that she was fired after Alyssa Milano threatened production with a lawsuit if the actor wasn’t kicked off the series.

“The narrative that I ‘quit’ was assigned to me by other people,” Doherty said. “I didn’t assign it to myself. I think I’m at that point in my life where I don’t want to keep lying about it, and I don’t want to keep lying about something that meant the absolute world to me, something that I loved doing. I loved going to that job. I loved the people that I worked with.”

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Doherty later noted that her representatives encouraged the narrative that she decided to leave the show instead of being forced to leave. “I remember them looking at me at the time and said, ‘No, no, no, your career won’t survive another firing [after the Beverly Hills, 90210 exit], so we’re just going to say that you chose to leave.”

During their conversation, Combs detailed what she recalled from Doherty’s exit, sharing that during a meeting with producer Jonathan Levin, she says he confirmed that Milano had issued an ultimatum. “[He said], ‘We were told that it’s her or me. Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment,” explained Combs. “Because she (Milano) went to the therapist or the mediator or the corporate mediator, whatever the heck his title is, she built a case for herself where she was documenting every time she felt uncomfortable on set and for whatever reason, whereas you and I refused to speak to him. So that’s where the deck was stacked.”

According to Combs, Milano’s threats of taking legal action “wouldn’t fucking fly” by today’s standards. “There were no on-set brawls, there were not even harsh words exchanged. It was all behind the scenes,” she said. “It was nothing that any of our co-stars or anyone [on set] noticed.”

Doherty added, “I don’t ever remember being mean to [Milano] on set. I remember an episode that I directed where she did something on the Christmas break, and they asked me to work around some things with her and I couldn’t have been more kind and understanding.”

During the previous episode of her two-part chat with Combs, Doherty shed light into what led into her rift with Milano. She noted that she was the first to be cast on the show, as it was sold to the WB based on her star power. The actor was also offered to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone alone at the heels of the series’ success.

“The competitiveness was kicking in. And I’m not saying with you, I’m saying with Alyssa and myself, that there was a lack of female support,” she said.

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Milano’s rep for comment.

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