Shannen Doherty didn’t quit “Charmed” — she was fired.
In the most recent episode of the “Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty” podcast published Monday, the actor decided to come clean about her exit from the beloved WB series. Doherty admitted during a second interview with her former “Charmed” co-star, Holly Marie Combs, that she was fired from the show despite saying she quit after its third season in 2001.
She explained why she lied about being fired, saying:
My representatives, I remember them looking at me at the time and said, “No, no, no, your career won’t survive another firing, so we’re just going to say that you chose to leave.” I remember I started laughing, going, “Who is going to believe that I’m crazy enough to leave a hit show?”
As to why she finally decided to share the truth about her departure from the series, Doherty said: “One can’t keep telling the same story over and over and over again, when it’s not the truth.”
During the episode, Combs also recalled a conversation she had with “Charmed” producer Jonathan Levin, who allegedly told her that Milano threatened to sue for hostile workplace environment if Doherty wasn’t fired from the show.
“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 said, noting how Milano had “built a case for herself” by documenting every time she felt uncomfortable on set with a mediator.
Combs added that Milano’s threat of legal action “by today’s standard it wouldn’t fucking fly,” noting there were never any “brawls” or “harsh words” said on set between Doherty and Milano.
“I don’t ever remember being mean to [Milano] on set,” Doherty said elsewhere in the conversation, noting how she once worked around some things for Milano for a “Charmed” episode Doherty directed. “I couldn’t have been more kind and understanding.”
Later in the episode, Doherty also said she wished she handled her exit from the show differently.
“I wish that I had been older and wiser because I definitely would’ve sued, and I would’ve been honest about the situation because the rumors followed me regardless,” she said.