Shannen Doherty responds to Alyssa Milano’s Charmed comments: ‘We were not mean’
Actors starred together in three seasons of magical drama series
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Shannen Doherty has addressed the comments of her former Charmed co-star, Alyssa Milano, on the nature of her exit from the programme.
Doherty, Milano and Holly Marie Combs made up the main cast of the magical drama about sister witches from its launch in 1998, until Doherty’s abrupt exit as eldest sister Prue Halliwell taking place at the end of the third season.
Rose MacGowan was then introduced in season four as Paige Matthews, the siblings’ younger half-sister.
In a December edition of her podcast Let’s Be Clear, Doherty, 51, and Combs, 50, discussed the former’s sudden departure from the show. Doherty claimed she was fired after Milano issued an “ultimatum” to producers.
After Milano denied these comments, Doherty, Combs, and Rose McGowan, who joined the show in season four, took part in a panel conversation at MegaCon Orlando where the Beverly Hills, 90210 star gave a further account of her experience.
“Holly and I, we were not mean on the podcast,” Doherty said on Sunday (4 February), according to Variety.
“In fact, we went in and we edited out anything that we felt would cause more drama. We simply told the truth because the truth actually does matter. But we wanted to try to save you, the fans, from heartbreak as much as humanly possible.”
Doherty, who first received a cancer diagnosis in 2015, added that expressing her truth was particularly important to her in light of her health issues.
She continued: “At this point in my life with my health diagnosis – I’m sorry if I start crying – with fighting horrific disease every day of my life, it is also incredibly important to me that the truth actually be told as opposed to the narrative that others put out there for me.”
On the podcast, Combs claimed that Charmed producer Jonathan Levin had once filled her in on the nature of Milano’s alleged ultimatum.
“He said, you know, ‘We’re basically in a position where it’s one or the other. We were told [by Alyssa] that it’s [Shannen] or me, and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment,’” Combs recalled.
Appearing at the same convention in Orlando on an earlier date, Milano spoke out against Combs and Doherty’s account given on the podcast.
“I’m the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day, almost a quarter of a century later, still happening,” Milano said.
“And I’m sad that people can’t move past it. And I’m sad that we all can’t just celebrate the success of a show that meant so much to all of us.”
In a post on Instagram, Milano later added that she had no power to be able to get a castmate fired.
The Independent has contacted Milano’s representative for comment.
Charmed concluded in 2006 and was rebooted with a series of the same name in 2018, which ran for four seasons.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments