Sharon Osbourne has changed her tune.
The Talk anchor made headlines this week when she vented with ample volume in support of her friend Piers Morgan, whose shocking dismissal of Meghan Markle‘s suicidal feelings saw him “leave” popular UK morning show Good Morning Britain. A development that took place against the backdrop of over 41,000 formal complaints about his conduct to UK regulator Ofcom.
With Markle’s claims – which were shared during her and Prince Harry‘s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey – centering on media scrutiny that she and her husband say was racially charged, it sparked a conversation about whether Morgan’s dismissal was rooted in racism.
As Osbourne’s co-host’s attempted to argue that to be true, she erupted in a shocking showing that many felt reeked of privilege and demonstrated a brand of anger that was more concerned with being accused of aligning with racism than demonstrating furor over the actual racism thrown Markle’s way.
See the initial segment that lit the match (most especially the exchange with Sheryl Underwood) and Osbourne’s freshly issued “apology” to the Black community below…
Moments ago, the 68-year-old took to social media with a lengthy apology:
There is a part of yours truly that is somewhat exhausted with behavior like Sharon’s. But the reality is that moments like that almost have to happen for necessary conversations to occur and for viewpoints to be corrected.
Make no mistake, she’s entitled to her beliefs. However, for yours truly, the line “there are very few things that hurt my heart more than racism” struck a chord. And not in a good way.
A surface reading of that verbiage makes for a warming feeling. BUT, her outburst made clear that she actually isn’t fully aware (nor was she wanting to be made aware at that moment) of what racism truly is. It’s no longer just name-calling or lynching (although both still occur). It’s much more layered and liquid-like and permeates so many parts of society. To observe her be so loud and so unwilling to hear someone with firsthand knowledge of what racism is was tough to see.
Here’s hoping the backlash brings about a genuine change within her and others. Not just this PR spin.