Ozzy Osbourne Defends Sharon Amidst ‘The Talk’ Controversy: She’s The Most ‘Un-Racist Person’

Ozzy Osbourne supported his wife, Sharon, on the May 17 episode of his SiriusXM show 'Ozzy Speaks,' roughly two months after Sharon's abrupt exit from 'The Talk.'

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May 18, 2021 9:15AM EDT
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Ozzy Osbourne spoke out about his wife, Sharon Osbourne‘s, March 2021 exit from The Talk on the May 17 episode of his SiriusXM radio show Ozzy Speaks. The English rocker, 72, defended his wife of nearly 40 years, 68, following the former The Talk co-hosts intense exchange with Sheryl Underwood about racism. “She’s been through the mill of it and, you know, all I can tell you if my wife was slightly racist, I’ll tell you she’s possibly the most un-racist person I’ve ever met,” Ozzy asserted.

The Black Sabbath singer revealed that Sharon was “devastated” by the allegations of racism that resurfaced. “She was like, ‘Why are they saying this about me?'” Ozzy recalled. Over the course of the last two months, however, Ozzy told listeners that his wife was “marching on” and was weathering “the storm” since leaving the CBS daytime talk show. “It’s one of them things once you’re accused of it, people tar you with that brush and it’s very hard to shake off. This was just another bump in the road. We’ll get through this.”

Sharon Osbourne on ‘The Talk’ [CBS].
Ozzy’s remarks come just over two months following the March 10 episode in question. During Sheryl’s conversation with Sharon, who defended longtime friend Piers Morgan‘s harsh opinion of Meghan Markle and saying “racist things” about the Duchess of Sussex, the exchange elevated to a whole new level. “I will ask you again, Sheryl, I was asking you during the break and I’m asking you again. And don’t try and cry, because if anyone should be crying, it should be me,” Sharon said. “This is the situation: you tell me where you have heard him say – educate me. Tell me when you have heard him say racist things. Educate me. Tell me,” the former co-host demanded of Sheryl.

The exchange between the two quickly spiraled out of control. On March 12, Sharon released a statement, apologizing for her behavior. “To anyone of color that I offend and/or to anyone that feels confused or let down by what I say, I am truly sorry,” a portion of her statement read. CBS, however, made the decision to do an internal investigation following the March 10 episode.

Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne at the Britain Metal Hammer Golden God Awards in London on June 11, 2018 [Shutterstock].
On March 16, The Talk went into an extended production hiatus, pending results of their internal investigation. During this time, former The Talk co-hosts Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete recalled instances when Sharon referred to both of them as “too ‘ghetto’” for the daytime show. By March 26, CBS confirmed that Sharon had left The Talk. “Sharon Osbourne has decided to leave The Talk,” a statement that the network provided to HollywoodLife read. “The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home. As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon’s behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace.”