Holly Marie Combs is revealing the real reason why Shannen Doherty left Charmed after the series’ third season.
The two starred together as Piper and Prue, the eldest two of the Halliwell sisters, in the first three seasons of the show, before Shannen‘s character was killed off in the season three finale.
There have been rumors over the years of tensions between Shannen and their other co-star/TV sister Alyssa Milano, and on Shannen‘s new iHeart podcast, Let’s Be Clear, they revealed how their former co-star got Shannen fired from the show.
Keep reading to find out more…
On the podcast, Holly shared that she and Shannen didn’t want to do the show without each other, but revealed executive producer Jonathan Levin said they were “backed into this corner” about Alyssa wanting her fired.
“He said, ‘We didn’t mean to,’ and he said, ‘but we’ve been backed into this corner.’ He said, ‘You know, we’re basically in a position where it’s one or the other. We were told that it’s her or me, and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile work environment,’” Holly recalled.
The actress continued that Alyssa had gone to the on-set therapist or mediator and “built a case for herself where she was documenting every time she felt uncomfortable on set, and for whatever reason. Whereas you and I refused to speak to him. So, that’s where the deck was stacked.”
Holly recalls that there were no on-set brawls or harsh words exchanged, and she noted that all of the alleged instances took place behind the scenes, in a trailer, where no one else would have noticed.
For her part, Shannen looks back and opened up about how she has replayed “everything” and trying to find moments where something happened.
“I don’t ever remember being mean to her on set. I actually remember an episode that I directed where she did something on the Christmas break and they asked me to work around some things with her and I had no problem with it. I couldn’t have been more kind and understanding,” she recalled.
Shannen adds that she thought about suing over a part of her contract, that would allow her to still get paid, but her reps at the time said her career wouldn’t survive getting fired again, and suggested she just say that she left the show.
However, looking back, she wishes “that I had been older and wiser because I definitely would have sued and I would have been honest about the situation, because the rumors followed me regardless… I was made out to… it makes you look crazy when you leave a hit show only after three seasons.”
Years later, Shannen admits that she still has not forgiven or forgotten what happened.
“As you get older, you accept that a situation happened. Acceptance and moving on with your life does not equate to forgiveness,” she said. “You just learn a lesson and look at somebody differently and move on.”
Back in 2020, former Charmed star Rose McGowan, who replaced Shannen and her character in a new role, claimed that Alyssa made the set “toxic AF.”
Currently, Shannen has been battling cancer, which spread to her brain earlier this year, and has since spread to her bones.
