Elaine Welteroth has spoken out after an audio of a private conversation between her and Sharon Osbourne leaked online.
In the audio, Welteroth can be heard consoling Osbourne following the backlash of her defending Piers Morgan.
According to Welteroth, producers asked her to speak with Osbourne.
“I thought we had closed the painful, public chapter of the controversy related to the March 10th show,” Welteroth said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight.
“Today, however, I learned that my private comments made moments after the incident from a place of compassion to a then-colleague (the most senior level co-host on The Talk) were recorded —without my consent or knowledge—and shared with the media.”
Morgan left “Good Morning Britain” after his long-running vendetta against Meghan Markle reached a fever pitch. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Markle disclosed that she once considered suicide because of the harassment she faced from the UK media. She also alleged that a royal family member was “concerned” about how dark her son, Archie, would be when he was born.
Morgan had a lot to say. Osbourne came to his defense live on air and was obliterated by viewers.
Welteroth explained how the conversation between her and Osbourne came about:
“They asked me to ask that question. I said, ‘No I’m not going to ask that question,'” Welteroth said to Osbourne in the recording. “I said, ‘Wait, what’s the intention of this conversation? Because this can go left so fast. … I said to them, ‘This is going to be a train wreck.'”
“Sharon I’m just so sorry that went the way that it went,” Welteroth added as Osbourne responded, “Do you know what it is, though? When you have to sit there and defend yourself, it makes you look guilty because you can’t get out of it.”
Welteroth adds, “I know you’re upset. I know it was terrible, but I just hope that once this blows over that you know Sheryl is your friend. She really is your friend. She doesn’t think you’re racist. I don’t think you’re racist. No one who knows you would ever say that or feed that.”
Osbourne then replies, “But why couldn’t she have said, ‘I’ve known you for 11 years, I know you are not racist,’ instead of ‘I don’t think you are, no, I know you aren’t.’ There’s a huge difference.”
