Sharon Osbourne Has A Change Of Heart After Blow-Up On The Talk

Her husband may have sung about being on a "crazy train," but Sharon Osbourne is taking quite the wild ride of her own. After her friend Piers Morgan quit Good Morning Britain over his remarks about Meghan Markle, she posted a tweet supporting his right to share his views. That led to a heated discussion on The Talk in which Osbourne indignantly objected to the idea that she might be considered a racist for defending him. "How could I be a racist about anyone or anything in my life?" she demanded. The incident drew even more negative publicity for the talk-show star, who returned to Twitter on Friday to offer an apology.

The two-slide statement opened with a declaration of the mutual "love & support" she and the Black community have had for years. She went on, "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." Osbourne then explained that in the moment, she felt "blindsided" by the reaction to her support of Morgan and acted out of panic at the thought of being considered racist. "There are very few things that hurt my heart more than racism so to be associated with that spun me fast!" she said.

After vowing to "listen, learn and do better," the host added that she should have been more specific about not condoning "racism, misogyny or bullying," but that she will "always support freedom of speech." 

Osbourne's contrite words struck home with some. One tweeted, "I never took your reaction as anything other [than] you reacting to what was said to you. Keep your head up." Another blamed the critics, posting: "Your apology won't be enough. The mob is never satisfied. You was correct in your support of Piers Morgan."

Others were quick to point out that Osbourne didn't specifically apologize to cohost Sheryl Underwood for her behavior on the show. As Underwood tried to calm her friend and explain how her support of Morgan might be interpreted the wrong way, Osbourne angrily talked over her, demanding that she "educate me" on Morgan's offenses (via Twitter). At one point, she told Underwood, "Don't try and cry, because if anyone should be crying, it should be me."

In general, the apology was seen as a half-hearted attempt at mending fences. Underwood herself has not responded directly to the tweet, but her most recent Twitter post seems to make a statement. She retweeted a critic who said, "Sharon Osbourne['s] response is typical and not surprising. Put her on a turntable, because she wants to play that song, 'I'm the victim.'"