Alyssa Milano on “Charmed” controversy
What does she say about her co-stars’ allegations?
Alyssa Milano (left) with her co-stars Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs (right).
© imago images/Everett Collection
Alyssa Milano has spoken out about allegations that she was responsible for Shannen Doherty’s exit from Charmed.
Alyssa Milano (51) recently in a panel talk with fans in Orlando about allegations made by her “Charmed” co-stars. In December 2023, Holly Marie Combs (50) was in conversation with Shannen Doherty (52) for their “Let’s Be Clear” podcast explains that Jonathan Levin, the show’s producer, told her during a private meeting in the early 2000s that Milano had pressured the network to fire Shannen Doherty.
Doherty also claimed on her podcast that Milano broke everyone up and tried to drive a wedge between her and Combs, who remain very good friends to this day. “That was really interesting. She tried to pull you away from me,” Doherty said. In general, she always felt a “competitive spirit” towards Milano and a “lack of female support”, which also put a strain on her friendship with Combs. “There was so much drama on set and not enough passion for the work.”
Alyssa Milano wants to focus on the success of the series
“I just want to say I’m sad,” Milano said during the Q&A when asked about the allegations. “I’m most sad for the fans. I’m most saddened that a show that meant so much to so many people is marred by a toxicity that still lingers to this day, almost a quarter century later.” It’s a shame “that people can’t put this behind them,” she continued. “I’m sad that we can’t just celebrate the success of a series that meant so much to all of us.”
The actress added that she has worked very hard over the last 25 years to “heal all of my traumas. And that’s not just the trauma that I experienced while filming, but my entire trauma.” She wanted to heal it “because I understand that hurting people hurt people and my intention is to be a healed person who helps heal people.”
Alyssa Milano aka Phoebe and Holly Marie Combs aka Piper were in front of the camera for eight seasons in the series “Charmed” (1998-2006). The third sister, Prue, was initially portrayed by Shannen Doherty. There were always rumors about arguments on the set. In 2001, Doherty’s character died after three seasons and was replaced by half-sister Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan, 50). It was long reported that Doherty left the series voluntarily.
However, in her podcast she explained according to “Hollywood Reporter”: “The narrative that I ‘quit’ was attributed to me by other people. I’m at a point in my life where I don’t want to lie anymore, and I don’t want to lie about something that’s bothering me anymore World meant, something I loved doing. I loved going to this job. I loved the people I worked with.” Her team supported the fact that the news was spread to the outside world that she had decided to leave the series. “I remember them looking at me at the time and saying, ‘No, your career won’t survive another layoff, so we’ll just say you’ve decided to leave.'”