'A Horrible Mess': Julie Chen Moonves Says Sharon Osbourne's Exit From 'The Talk' Was Like 'Watching a Trainwreck'

Julie Chen Moonves is giving her unfiltered take on Sharon Osbourne's exit from The Talk.

During the Big Brother host's Tuesday, September 19, appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Chen Moonves told Andy Cohen exactly what she thought about how her former cohost's ousting from the daytime show for defending Piers Morgan was handled.

"I think the whole thing was handled really horribly. It was very sad to see," the ex-panelist — who departed the show in 2018 — said.

The Bravo boss then chimed in, adding how confused he was by the lack of discussion during filming about why The Osbournes star left. "It's a show called The Talk. I thought they should've gone on and talked it out," Cohen added. "The whole thing was a horrible mess. It was watching a trainwreck," Moonves explained.

In 2021, Osbourne was put in the hot seat during a broadcast after backing Morgan's criticism of Megan Markle's public admission of how she struggled with her mental health. The 70-year-old's controversial stance led to an on-air spat with cohost Sheryl Underwood.

"The fact that you don't even want to take into consideration that [Meghan Markle's] desire to want to end her own life is connected to her race, that dismissal makes it a racist situation," the comedian told Osbourne during the argument that ultimately ended Osbourne's time on the panel.

The former reality star later apologized for how the situation went down. "After some reflection, after sitting with your comments & sitting with my heart I would like to address the discussion on The Talk this past Wednesday. I have always been embraced with so much love & support from the black community & I have deep respect & love for the black community," she clarified in a social media post. "To anyone of color that I offended and/or to anyone that feels confused or let down by what I said, I am truly sorry. I panicked, felt blindsided, got defensive & allowed my fear & horror of being accused of being racist take over."

"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," CBS said in a statement following the broadcast.

Osbourne was later fired her for the misstep.

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Chen-Moonves also had quite the rocky ending to her time at The Talk. The 53-year-old was the show's main moderator for eight years before leaving in September 2018 after her husband, Les Moonves, was accused of sexual misconduct by several women and ousted as chairman and CEO of CBS. The former head of the network denied the allegations.

According to the former newscaster, she claimed she was forced off the chat series after two of her fellow cast members — whom she did not name — went to the network and refused to sit at the table with her.