Donald Trump Jr has slammed CBS for suspending the broadcast of The Talk days after co-host Sharon Osbourne was accused of racism on the air for defending her friend Piers Morgan.
Morgan last week departed his British breakfast TV show Good Morning Britain amid backlash from some viewers after he said Meghan Markle lied during her bombshell interview with Oprah.
On Wednesday, Osbourne argued with The Talk co-host Sheryl Underwood after she branded Morgan racist.
Over the weekend CBS took the decision to pause the show while it investigates the dust-up. On Monday, a repeat of the Valentine’s Day episode was aired instead.
Don Jr responded on Monday to a tweet from Morgan, who also reacted angrily to the decision to pause the daytime talk show.
Morgan tweeted: ‘So @CBS has yanked The Talk off air while it investigates the ‘scandal’ of @MrsSOsbourne defending me when @sherylunderwood said I was ‘racist’ for disbelieving Meghan Markle.
‘The REAL scandal is me being branded a racist for refusing to believe a liar.’
The former president’s eldest son tweeted in response to Morgan: ‘This is getting insane!
Donald Trump Jr on Monday slammed the CBS television network for suspending the live broadcast of The Talk while the network investigates last Wednesday’s on-air dust-up between co-hosts Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood
Osbourne (far right) and Underwood (second from left) got into a heated exchange over Osbourne’s support for her friend Piers Morgan (third from left), who has come under fire for comments he made about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. From left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Underwood, Morgan, Marie Osmond, and Osbourne
Don Jr responded on Monday to a tweet from Morgan, who also reacted angrily to the decision to pause the daytime talk show while it reportedly investigates Wednesday’s dust-up between Osbourne and co-host Sheryl Underwood
‘Now other shows are being pulled off the air because someone who actually knows someone else doesn’t believe they’re racist simply because someone else accused them of it with no basis simply because he didn’t believe someone else.
‘Got it?!?’
Don Jr tagged Morgan in his post.
DailyMail.com has reached out to ViacomCBS, the network’s parent company, and representatives from The Talk for comment.
On Sunday, Deadline was the first to report that the Monday and Tuesday live studio broadcasts of The Talk would be suspended in the wake of the Osbourne-Underwood spat from Wednesday.
Journalist Elizabeth Vargas and singer Carly Pearce had both been scheduled to appear on the canceled shows.
It was learned on Sunday that The Talk would go on a brief hiatus after an explosive dust-up on Wednesday between Osbourne (left) and Underwood (right). Osbourne has claimed CBS ‘blindsided’ her when she was asked live on The Talk about her support for Piers Morgan, as the network announced it has launched a probe into the episode. Pictured the incident on Wednesday’s show
Osbourne, the wife of Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne, publicly backed up Morgan last week after her fellow Brit left ITV’s Good Morning Britain.
Morgan had said he didn’t believe Markle’s claims that Buckingham Palace refused to adequately support her when she told them she was suicidal.
Morgan, who is also Daily Mail editor at large, was strongly critical of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to speak to Oprah Winfrey in a widely watched interview that aired last Sunday night in the United States and on Monday in the UK.
He accused Meghan and Harry of damaging the royal family and seeking publicity on their own terms – without accepting the responsibility and scrutiny that come with their position.
His criticism sparked a firestorm, and he departed from Good Morning Britain last Tuesday, following a furious row with his co-host Alex Beresford, which saw him storm off the set.
During Wednesday’s explosive episode of The Talk, Underwood confronted Osbourne on the air about her support for Morgan. Osbourne has claimed she was ‘blindsided’ by Underwood and CBS.
During Wednesday’s show, Osbourne told Underwood, her co-host, who was on the verge of tears, that she felt he was just expressing an opinion.
‘I know he has a right to say what he feels on the interview, as we have a right to say and everybody has a right to say what they feel with freedom of speech,’ Osbourne said.
‘Did I like everything he said? Did I agree with what he said? No, because it’s his opinion. It’s not my opinion.
After she faced a backlash and accusations of racism following Wednesday’s show, Osbourne issued a statement (above) Friday apologizing ‘to anyone of colour that I offended and/or to anyone that feels confused or let down’
Piers Morgan expressed his disappointment after Osbourne apologized
‘But why is it that because I supported a long-time friend and work colleague of mine for years that everybody goes, if you support him, then you must be racist because he’s racist?’
With Underwood looking upset, Osbourne continued: ‘This is the situation.
‘You tell me where you have heard him say, educate me, tell me when you have heard him [Morgan] say racist things.
‘Educate me. Tell me.’
Underwood said that the issue was not with Morgan’s words as much as his tone.
‘It is not the exact words of racism,’ said Underwood.
‘It is the implication and the reaction to it.
‘To not want to address that, because she is a black woman, and to try and dismiss it or to make it seem less than it is. That’s what makes it racist.
‘Right now I am talking to a woman I believe is my friend.
‘I don’t want anybody here to watch this and think we are attacking you for being racist.’
Osbourne replied: ‘I think it’s too late. That seed is already sown.’
After she too faced a backlash and accusations of racism, Osbourne then issued a statement after Friday apologizing ‘to anyone of color that I offended and/or to anyone that feels confused or let down’.
On Saturday, Osbourne denied calling another former co-star, Holly Robinson Peete, who is black, ‘too ghetto’ for the show.
Osbourne says she ‘never uttered those words’.
She posted a screenshot of an email that she says was sent by Robinson Peete in 2011, arguing the note ‘speaks for itself’ on the issue.
In it Robinson Peete, 56, seems to suggest the reason she was removed from the show was down to Julie Chen, the wife of former CBS chairman Les Moonves and not Osbourne.
DailyMail.com has contacted a representative for CBS and Chen.
The email notes: ‘CBS is doing behind-the-scenes damage to my career with other studios and nets…I know you are in a tough spot…’
That came after Robinson Peete, who co-hosted the first season of The Talk in 2010, had claimed Osbourne got her fired, tweeting: ‘I’m old enough to remember when Sharon complained that I was too ‘ghetto’ for #theTalk … then I was gone.
‘I bring this up now bc I was mortified watching the disrespectful condescending tone she took w/her co-host who remained calm & respectful because … she HAD to.’
‘I’ve always been a highroad girl but when I watched what everyone else saw on my former show … it triggered me and I wanted to speak out,’ the actress added on Instagram.
Osbourne, left, and Holly Robinson Peete, right, pictured in 2011. Osbourne has denied calling Holly Robinson Peete ‘too ghetto’ for The Talk, saying she ‘never uttered those words’ after CBS launched a probe into her bust up with Sheryl Underwood over Piers Morgan
The TV star and wife of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, 68, shared an email from her former colleague over the weekend, which she argues ‘speaks for itself’ on the issue
That came after Robinson Peete, who co-hosted the first season of The Talk in 2010, had claimed Osbourne got her fired, tweeting: ‘I’m old enough to remember when Sharon complained that I was too ‘ghetto’ for #theTalk … then I was gone’
In her Instagram post from Saturday, Osbourne wrote: ‘In response to @hollyrpeete Holly Robinson Peete’s accusation of me getting her fired from @thetalkcbs and saying she was “too ghetto” to be on The Talk. ‘
‘I never once uttered those words and I am sharing an e mail sent to me from Holly one month after she was let go by CBS.
‘As I have stated before, I have never had the ability/authority to get anyone fired from @thetalkcbs and Ms. Peete’s email speaks for itself.’
Osbourne had already denied Robinson Peete’s allegations telling Variety it is ‘a 110 percent lie.’
She said: ‘I cannot have anyone fired…And that is a not a term I use. That’s not in my vocabulary. I don’t speak like that.
‘The only ghetto I know is the Warsaw Ghetto and I think that’s the only time I’ve ever referred to something like that.’
Osbourne, who was born Sharon Rachel Levy, comes from a Jewish family.
She said she was used ‘like a lamb held out for slaughter’ by CBS, claiming she was left out of planning the segment for the first time in 11 years and the topic of conversation was only mentioned to her minutes before it aired.
She told Variety: ‘I was blindsided, totally blindsided by the whole situation. In my 11 years, this was the first time I was not involved with the planning of the segment.’
Morgan had praised Osbourne for tweeting her support for him. Following her u-turn, he slammed what he described as ‘bullies’ on The Talk for ‘shaming’ her into apologizing
In the interview, the Duchess of Sussex said her mental health became so bad while they were living in the UK as senior working Royals she ‘didn’t want to be alive any more’.
Morgan said he ‘didn’t believe a word’ Meghan said live on air Monday morning sparking more than 41,000 viewer complaints to watchdog Ofcom, which ultimately led to his exit from the show.
Osbourne and Underwood then got into a row on The Talk Wednesday over the saga with Sharon arguing Morgan was just expressing an opinion and questioning where he had been racist.
She had also tweeted of Morgan: ‘I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that you’re paid for your opinion and that you’re just speaking your truth.’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke to Oprah Winfrey in the interview shown on Sunday in the United States. Morgan slammed the couple and said he didn’t believe Markle’s claims that Buckingham Palace gave her the cold shoulder when she was suicidal
The backlash in Britain prompted Morgan to quit as co-host of Good Morning Britain. He is seen above with his former co-host, Susanna Reid
Osbourne later said she was ‘in shock’ and felt like she was facing a ‘firing squad.’
‘I was honestly in shock. I felt like I was in front of a firing squad. I felt like a lamb held out for slaughter… They had me there for 20 minutes,’ she said.
‘We are committed to a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace,’ the network said in a statement Friday.
‘All matters related to the Wednesday episode of ‘The Talk’ are currently under internal review.’
Morgan had praised Osbourne for tweeting her support for him, saying: ‘When stuff like this happens, true friends run towards you, fake friends run away. I love Sharon Osbourne because she always stays true to herself.
‘She knew she would get abused by the woke brigade for tweeting this – but did it anyway because it’s what she believes.’
Following her apology on Friday, he slammed what he described as ‘bullies’ on The Talk for ‘shaming’ her into apologizing.
‘Sharon’s been shamed & bullied into apologizing for defending me against colleagues accusing me of racism because I don’t believe Meghan Markle’s bulls***,’ he tweeted.
‘This is where we’ve reached. I demand an apology from those @TheTalkCBS bullies for their disgraceful slurs against ME.’
Morgan stood by his comments Wednesday saying he still doesn’t believe Meghan and that he is ‘happy to die on’ free speech.
‘On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t,’ he tweeted.
‘If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions.’
