Elaine Welteroth hits back at outrage over her 'phony' kindness to Sharon Osbourne
'The Talk' host Elaine Welteroth has responded after she was caught on a leaked hot mic tape defending former co-host Sharon Osbourne, after claims of racism were brought against the latter. In a statement to Entertainment Tonight, Welteroth – who joined the CBS daytime talk show last December, said about her private conversation with Osbourne: "None of us wanted that day to go how it did and I do not regret sharing these feelings in a private conversation with a colleague. To set the record straight, I never filed a complaint with HR against Sharon Osbourne or anyone else."
She added, "I am disheartened, however, that I was recorded without my consent and that my kindness has been taken out of context and weaponized in an attempt to absolve responsibility for someone else's actions. I was honored to join The Talk to add my voice to important and lively conversations. I am so excited about the next chapter with our new co-host Jerry O'Connell and I am grateful for the new perspectives he will bring to the show. "
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'I know you're not racist'
Osbourne was fired from 'The Talk' after she became a target of cancel culture for defending her friend Piers Morgan over the latter's explosive on-air comments on Meghan Markle. Osbourne was seen butting heads with co-star Sheryl Underwood during a March 10 episode of the CBS talk show and Osborne was accused of giving 'validation' to Morgan's allegedly 'racist' views.
In the audio tape obtained by the Daily Mail, Welteroth was heard comforting a tearful Osbourne backstage, apologizing about the way the conversation went down. The 34-year-old TV personality explained she and co-star Sheryl Underwood are put in "such a f**ked up position," as they are "held to a different standard" as black women and expected to publicly speak up on race.
Osbourne tearfully confesses that when she agreed to comment on the Morgan controversy, after being requested by the showrunners, she never imagined that it was going to end up in her being accused of being racist. "Here's the thing that I just want you to just know," Welteroth was heard replying in a hot mic recording. "Sheryl and I are held to a different standard by black people and people of color out there who expect us to say something about every, racist anything... and it puts us in such a f**ked up position. That even if we don't have the information, if we don't even really care, if we don't really wanna engage, it feels like there's a spotlight on us, you know? I think that Sheryl was trying to navigate that line, you know what I mean, where she was like, 'this is my friend.' I know you're not racist."
'Daytime talk show can't handle such a complex issue'
Welteroth also agreed with Osbourne that the showrunners 'made' Underwood ask the question that sparked the heated discussion. She also goes on to apologize to Osbourne over the incident, reassuring her that she knows she's not racist. She added that commenting on such a complex issue on the daytime talk show was not in any of their scopes of expertise and admitted that she was not a "diversity and inclusion expert."
"It was so much. And it's like - I'm not even talking to you now, Sharon...it's like America," she continued saying in the leaked tape. "Black America, White America, Racist America. It's like they're all watching us and there's this pressure to demonstrate how to talk about this stuff, but we haven't ever been guided on how to f**king do this. I'm not an D&I [diversity and inclusion] expert. I didn't know I was gonna come on here and be the - I don't know how to do that, actually."
At that, Osbourne replied, "No! Neither do I, I'm just a f**king old woman that has a lot of stories. I don't f**king care if you're an alien. Are you a nice alien? Then come sit down." Welteroth was also heard telling Osbourne that she had handled herself "really well." "On the show you walk this delicate tight rope where you really supported your friend but you didn't alienate people of color who thought you handled yourself really well on the show when you addressed it. Leave it at that," she said.
'The two faces of Elaine Welteroth'
Fans were livid after the Daily Mail published the content of the leaked hot mic tape. "I wish they’d just cancel the entire show," one of them said, while another commented, "So Elaine lied this whole time!" A third quipped, "When public victimization is the cultural currency you can expect counterfeiting." One more remarked, "All for ratings. All phony." The next added, "The two faces of Elaine Welteroth." One more noted, "She bent the knee to blm. Womp womp."
When public victimization is the cultural currency you can expect counterfeiting.
— Troy A. Sing🇺🇲 (@TroySing) July 15, 2021