Entertainment
Jerry O’Connell replaces Sharon Osbourne on The Talk after heated race debate
Jerry O’Connell is replacing Sharon Osbourne on The Talk (Picture: Getty)
After months of rumours, it has finally been confirmed that Jerry O’Connell will be replacing Sharon Osbourne on The Talk.
Sharon quit the US talk show following a heated debate about race with co-star Sheryl Underwood.
The 68-year-old came under fire for saying she ‘stood with’ Piers Morgan, who quit Good Morning Britain after he allegedly refused to apologise for criticising Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The Talk was pulled off the air while an investigation was carried out, and during the break, Sharon decided to quit.
Jerry has guest-hosted the show for the past few months and will soon be joining co-hosts Sheryl Underwood, Amanda Kloots and Elaine Welteroth. Carrie Ann Inaba has taken a leave of absence from the series.
‘It’s fun, and it works, and we’re going to have a lot of fun,’ Jerry said during today’s show about the announcement.
The Talk’s ratings have dropped since Sharon Osbourne quit the show (Picture: CBS via Getty Images)
The 47-year-old actor is the first male co-host to ever be featured on the show.
This announcement comes after The Talk has suffered its lowest ratings ever, three months after Sharon Osbourne’s headline-making exit as a co-host.
Ratings have suffered since the show returned without Sharon, with the CBS programme coming in dead last in ratings against other daytime broadcast shows.
According to Soap Opera Network, The Talk came in last place in the Women 18-49 demographic for daytime broadcast ratings.
The talk show came in at number 13 with a 0.2 rating, 0.04 less than the previous week and 0.01 less than last year.
The star came under fire after she defended Piers Morgan (Picture: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
ABC’s competing talk show, The View, beat it by a few spots, coming in at number 6, with a 0.36 rating, which is up from both the previous week and last year.
Sharon, meanwhile, plans to share her side of the story in a tell-all book.
‘I’m going to tell everything,’ she declared in You magazine, ‘They didn’t gag me. I would never sign a gagging order, so I can do what I want.’
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She continued: ‘I do not want my legacy to be, ”Well, she was a racist.” I mean, it’s insane. It’s just not true.
‘I get it. You want change in your country. But don’t start on a 68-year-old from England who likes the Queen. I’m the wrong one.’
The Talk airs weekdays on CBS.
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