Entertainment
Cyndi Lauper defends Sharon Osbourne against racism claims amid death threats: ‘We all make mistakes’
Cyndi Lauper has thrown her support behind her longtime friend Sharon Osbourne, insisting the The Talk presenter isn’t racist and explaining that ‘we all make mistakes’.
Sharon, 68, is in the thick of controversy following her explosive rant towards her Talk co-host, Sheryl Underwood, over Piers Morgan and allegations of racism.
In her defence of Piers, Sharon demanded to be ‘educated’ about race issues and became tearful as she shouted at Sheryl.
Now Cyndi has stepped in to defend the TV star in a heartfelt Instagram post.
The Girls Just Want To Have Fun singer wrote: ‘I wanted to come out publicly to support my friend @sharonosbourne. I have known her for a long time and I do not believe that she is racist.
‘I understand that she may have misspoken, used the wrong words, and acted in ways that have been hurtful to others. She may have even flubbed her apology. But I do believe that she is sincere in trying to make things right. ‘
Cyndi, 67, continued: ‘We all make mistakes. I could not sit by and not say something. We all want to be given second chances but no one wants to give a second chance. We all want to be forgiven but no one wants to forgive. I believe that Sharon is sincere in her desire to apologize and change.
‘I hope that everyone will be at least willing to hear her out.’
The musician isn’t the only one jumping to Sharon’s defence as Piers, 55, spoke out to condemn the death threats she has received over the controversy.
‘This is true, and so disgusting. The woke brigade are the new fascists. If you don’t agree with them, they want to kill you,’ he tweeted.
Sharon issued an apology as the backlash mounted earlier this month and said in a statement: ‘I have always been embraced with so much love & support from the black community & I have deep respect & love for the black community.
‘To anyone of colour 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. There are very few things that hurt my heart more than racism so to feel associated with that spun me fast! I am not perfect, I am still learning like the rest of us & will continue to learn, listen and do better.’
The former X Factor judge continued: ‘Please hear me when I say I do not condone racism, misogyny or bullying. I should have been more specific about that in my tweet. I will always support freedom of speech, but now I see how I unintentionally didn’t make that clear distinction.’
The Talk has been on hiatus since the on-air incident as CBS continues its ‘internal review’. The daytime chat show was due to resume on Tuesday but Deadline reports the break has been extended again with no new return date.
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