Following a display of emotional pyrotechnics on Wednesday’s episode of The Talk, Sharon Osbourne has apologized. Is it sincere or merely an inevitable stop on the public outburst train? You decide!
Some background: On Tuesday, Osbourne tweeted support for Piers Morgan, who melted down publicly on and walked off the set of the U.K.’s Good Morning Britain.
Well, as they say, birds of a feather! Osbourne then paraded her own fury on her talk show. On Wednesday, Osbourne’s co-hosts on The Talk confronted her about what was or could be perceived as Osbourne’s tacit condoning of racism. Morgan repeatedly expressed doubt about what Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey during the bombshell interview that aired Sunday (“I don’t believe a word she says, Meghan Markle”). The interview contained allegations of racism that Markle faced while in close proximity to the royal family.
Wednesday’s episode of The Talk opened with a panel discussion on Osbourne’s support of Morgan, and it lasted about 20 minutes. Osbourne’s thunderous display was astonishing. At one point she told co-host Sheryl Underwood, who is Black, “Don’t try and cry, ‘cause if anyone should be cryin’ it should be me.” In portraying herself as a victim when her own relationship with racism was merely questioned (multiple hosts specifically said that they do not believe Osbourne is racist), it was as though she had studied The Karen Handbook right before she hit the stage. “I’m the last person in the world who’s racist,” she said, apparently oblivious to this being the mantra of white people caught doing racism. (Remember Donald Trump’s assertion that he is the “least racist” person?)
It was such a bad look, one could have gone into that episode not having an opinion one way or another about whether Sharon Osbourne is a racist and come out doubting her because of how much she protested and the petulance with which she did it. For such a showbiz vet, it was stunningly unprofessional and a needless flailing. All she needed to do was to show up and listen to Underwood and co-host Elaine Welteroth, who is biracial. Listen to the Black women, tell them you hear them. Easy! Osbourne, instead, yelled and cursed, cueing the censors and snapping repeatedly at Underwood, whose patience with this ranting white woman deserves a Daytime Emmy. Create a category and give her a trophy.
And then, in the wee hours of Friday morning, Osbourne posted a Notes app apology regarding her Achievement in Karen on The Talk:
While packaged in a “sorry to those who I’ve offended” framework (amazing how Osbourne continues to rack up the clichés with plenty of space and time to craft this mea culpa), Osbourne’s statement expresses some degree of accountability. However, I would love to hear her expand on what she means when she says, “I have always been embraced with much love & support from the [B]lack community.” Perhaps that’s another Notes app explanation for another day.
Naturally, Morgan has weighed in on Osbourne’s apology, demanding an apology from The Talk:
Sharon, come get your boy.