Alyssa Milano has responded to claims she was responsible for Shannen Doherty leaving Charmed.
Between 1998 and 2006, TV viewers worldwide were captivated by the magical WB/CW dramedy.
Created by Constance M Burge, the series focused on the Halliwell sisters – Prue (Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), Phoebe (Milano) and later Paige (Rose McGowan) – the most powerful witches in the world who used their respective powers to vanquish evil.
While critics often describe Charmed as one of the most influential television shows in history, it was also plagued with controversies – including Doherty and Milano’s very public feud and the former’s equally shocking departure.
While the two talents had an icy falling out, Milano seemingly confirmed the end of their beef in 2021.
“I would say we are cordial. You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of our tension that we had,” she told Entertainment Tonight.
However, peace between the two stars didn’t last long. In December 2023, Doherty claimed that Milano pressured producers to fire her during an episode of her podcast Let’s Be Clear.
“One can’t keep telling the same story over and over and over again, when it’s not the truth,” she explained to her guest and Charmed co-star Combs.
“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’s going to believe that I’m crazy enough to leave a hit show?'”
Combs seemingly backed Doherty’s statement, adding that producer Jonathan Levin admitted Milano gave him an ultimatum and threatened to sue for a “hostile workplace environment”.
“I don’t ever remember being mean to [Milano] on set,” Doherty added.
While Milano remained mum at the time of the podcast’s release, she recently broke her silence on the drama during a fan panel held by Collider.
“I don’t think it’s really that I’m sad for me or for my life or how it does or does not affect my life. I’m the most sad for the fans,” she explained.
“I’m the saddest 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.
“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.”
Towards the end of the panel, Milano expressed her hope to one day share the stage with her estranged co-stars.
“Do I wish that we could all sit on a stage? Yeah, because, again, this was almost a quarter of a century ago… And I’ve, you know, I think been very upfront and taken accountability for and apologized for whatever part I played in the situation,” she said.
During its eight-season run, Charmed became the longest-running hour-long television drama featuring all female leads (until it was surpassed by Desperate Housewives in 2012) and the second-longest drama broadcast by The WB network.
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