On March 10, people watching the CBS TV show ‘The Talk’ witnessed the most recent episode of an ongoing war of verbal bombs. Since this latest hot topic is British-themed, let’s spill the tea on Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne.
Shortly after the death of Prince Philip on April 9, former U.K. ‘Good Morning Britain’ news anchor Piers Morgan wrote an article for DailyMail, the British tabloid paper. In it, Morgan described Phillip and the Queen as “tough, uncompromising, stoic, and resolutely silent in public,” while the younger Royals are described as behaving differently, to say the least.
“Emoting on television, playing the victim, wallowing in self-pity, complaining about their regally gilded lives,” Morgan said, “and getting themselves into all manner of lurid scrapes that have damaged the family’s reputation”.
The story doesn’t begin with Morgan hearing any of this from the Royals, though. In a ‘I heard it from a friend’ moment, he names “Philip’s biographer and long-time friend, Gyles Brandreth” as the one to choose him as a confidant.
Morgan then gave a list which he had titled “Here is Prince Philip’s 10-point guide to surviving and thriving as a royal”. It is unclear whether the list was actually the creation of the former Royal, his biographer, or if it was of Morgan’s devising.
The scandalous accusation came under number 6 on the list: Stay Off Oprah. According to Brandreth, Phillip “thought Meghan and Harry’s decision to grant their friend Ms. Winfrey a lengthy prime-time US TV audience was ‘madness’ and ‘no good would come of it”. Morgan also went on to dismiss Markles’ claims of racism in the Royal family.
Meghan Markle was an American actress before marrying Prince Harry and later becoming Duchess of Sussex. She comes from mixed heritage, with her mother Doria Ragland being African-American and her father Thomas Markle ethnically white. According to Markle’s claims, her mixed ethnicity was a source of tension from other members of the royal family, which became a factor in her and Prince Harry’s decision to step down from their senior position and move to Canada, then later Southern California.
Now, you might ask – how did this controversy make it to America? On the March 10 episode of ‘The Talk’ Sharon Osbourne, wife of Ozzy Osbourne whose claim to fame is the family reality show ‘The Osbournes’, vocalized her support for Morgan’s statement and appeared confused as to how it was racist.
“I don’t know,” said Osbourne. “Tell me – what has he uttered that’s racist?” She continued, quipping “I feel like I’m about to be put in the electric chair,” and questioning “How can I be racist? How can I be racist about anybody or anything in my life? How can I?” Arguing through the commercial break, she demanded co-host Sheryl Underwood to educate her, saying “don’t try and cry ’cause if anyone should be crying it should be me.”
When engaging in a discussion of racism like this, it’s important to remember that people being discriminated against or witnessing it don’t have a ‘burden of proof’ where they must convince others to agree with them. If someone believes that the person or action in question is not racist, they should do their own research and educate themselves.
Had Ms. Osbourne said ‘I don’t believe Morgan is racist because ___ (evidence)’, or ‘I don’t think that Markles’ claim is valid because ___ (reasoning)’, that would have been a valid opinion, even if it is wrong.
Someone being a friend of yours is not evidence against their words being prejudiced. Being their friend does not make you racist – but specifically supporting their statement without doing your own research does.
Also, Osbourne implying that her co-host was going to try to mount an emotional attack with tears was an unsubstantiated call. Technically, her statement carries an ad hominem fallacy, since she was attempting to dismiss the claims based on a supposed quality of Underwood’s.
“Once you say, ‘I stand by my friend,’ then people think you must agree with what he is saying,” Underwood explained. “It is not the exact words of racism, it’s the implication and the reaction to it. To not want to address that because she is a Black woman, and to try to dismiss it or to make it seem less than what it is,” she said. “That’s what makes it racist – but right now, I’m talking to a woman I believe is my friend and I don’t want anybody here to watch this and think we are attacking you for being racist.”
Underwood handled the situation with remarkable grace. Even though she was being verbally attacked, she maintained a logical and positive stance. Although it would have been satisfying to see her return fire and put Osbourne in her place, it is understandable why Underwood would choose to graciously refrain from doing so while on national television.
However, Osbourne would not let the point go. “If I like Piers and he’s racist, am I racist?” she demanded of her co-host. After the March 10 episode aired, ‘The Talk’ went on a 3-week hiatus. During this time, on March 26 CBS made a statement that Osbourne’s actions “did not align with our values for a respectful workplace,” and that she had left the program.
In the future it would be helpful for Osbourne to return a last time to address the situation and apologize for her conduct. However, she has made it clear that she has turned her back on the program and has not withdrawn her statements online, so if she will not give an apology it is for the best that she doesn’t return.
