Actress Holly Marie Combs recently revealed behind the scenes of Shannen Doherty’s ouster from the series “Charmed.” And it is Alyssa Milano who is clearly blamed.
One of the most striking moments of the series Charmed was undoubtedly the death of the character of Prue in the final episode of season 3. A disappearance which, everyone knows today, is in reality the consequence of the ousting of Shannen Doherty.
During from the recent Let’s Be Clear podcastthe latter and Holly Marie Combs revealed the underside of this forced departure and pointed the finger at someone at fault: Alyssa Milano.
“I already want it to be known that there is no animosity with Alyssa today”declares in the preamble Shannen Doherty, who recently regretted the “lack of support” from her ex-partner.
“All of this is definitely a thing of the past, it’s not even really a subject of discussion anymore. If it comes up again, it’s because I’m regularly asked about it. Every fan I meet in the rue asks me the same question: “Why did you leave?”
Shannen Doherty recalls that she was the highest paid of the three actresses, because it was under her name that the series Charmed had been started and that she had obtained the green light from the network The WB. According to the American, it is this financial aspect which would have been the starting point of the friction with Alyssa Milano.
But it is the speech of Holly Marie Combs, the interpreter of the witch Piper Halliwell in Charmed, which really lifts the veil on the reasons for Shannen Doherty’s departure. Just after learning that the latter was going to be replaced, she found herself in the office of producer Jonathan Levin for a meeting of which she kept vivid memories.
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“I asked Jonathan Levin, ‘Why did you hire Shannen just to fire her shortly after?'”says Holly Marie Combs. “He said, ‘We didn’t want to do that. We were trapped. Basically, we’re in a position where it’s one or the other. Those around us told us it was Shannen or Alyssa. Alyssa threatened to sue us for hostile work environment.””
It was therefore an ultimatum from Alyssa Milano which led to the ouster of Shannen Doherty. But an ultimatum that went smoothly. “There were no fights on set, nor harsh words exchanged”concludes Holly Marie Combs.
“Everything happened behind the scenes, in a dressing room, no one ever noticed anything. If it happened today, it wouldn’t be the same…”
The trailer for the reboot of “Charmed”: