Sharon Osbourne has left the US chat show The Talk following a widely-publicized debate about racism earlier this month.
The 68-year-old clashed with co-host Sheryl Underwood when Osbourne defended UK broadcaster Piers Morgan's criticism of Meghan Markle following her groundbreaking interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In the interview, Markle spoke candidly about her mental health struggles during her time in the Royal Family - to which Morgan said he "didn't believe a word".
Watch Morgan make his controversial comments below:Morgan's comments about refusing to believe the Duchess of Sussex led to him quitting his job as co-host of Good Morning Britain after he refused to apologize.
Underwood said that Osbourne's support of Morgan only gave "validation" to "racist" views, BBC News reports.
In a tweet directed at Morgan, Osbourne said: "@piersmorgan 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."
Underwood addressed the tweet with Osbourne on the March 10 episode of The Talk, to which she said: "I feel like I'm about to be put in the electric chair because I have a friend who many people think is racist, so that makes me a racist."
Osbourne then challenged Underwood to explain where she had heard Morgan "say racist things".
"It is not the exact words of racism, it's the implication and the reaction to it," Underwood replied.
CBS then pulled the show while it carried out an investigation.
Issuing an apology after the episode, Osbourne said that she had "felt blindsided" and had let her "fear and horror of being accused of being racist take over".
However, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Osbourne described herself as a "sacrificial lamb", claiming that she had not been sufficiently prepared by The Talk's producers.
"I wish we could go on and have an adult conversation calmly and work it out but I don't know whether we can," she added.
Now, in a statement issued on Friday (March 26), CBS said that the contents of the March 10 epsiode "were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home".
Per the New York Times, CBS also announced that "Sharon Osbourne has decided to leave 'The Talk,'" adding that the presenter's "behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace."
CBS' review did not find any evidence to validate Osbourne's claims that the controversial discussion had been "orchestrated" by producers - but the network did acknowledge that the studio teams and producers were "accountable for what happened during that broadcast" because "it was clear the co-hosts were not properly prepared by the staff for a complex and sensitive discussion involving race".
