Sharon Osbourne was paid up to $10 million to walk away from CBS talk show “The Talk” after her on-set blow up with a co-star.
The 68-year-old Brit clashed with her American co-host Sheryl Underwood during the March 10 episode, when she defended her friend Piers Morgan against allegations of racism following his comments about Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
This prompted the network to pause production of the show while they launched an investigation.
The show has been off air for almost two weeks due to the controversy. Last week, CBS announced that Sharon Osbourne would not return to the show as her actions “did not align with our values for a respectful workplace”.
An insider told the New York Post‘s gossip column Page Six that Osbourne took a substantial payout to walk away and not look back.
“Sharon is walking away with a $5 to $10 million minimum payout,” a source said, with another source adding that the outspoken TV personality will “talk when she is ready. She still wants to give her side of the story. She has been on that show for 11 years and knows all the secrets”.
The short list of names to replace Osbourne includes actress Holly Robinson-Peete (pictured left), who accused Osbourne of calling her “too ghetto” to be part of the cast.
CBS confirmed The Talk will remain on hiatus for another two weeks before returning with Osbourne’s replacement on 12 April.
