The former host of the show opens up about being fired.
Holly Robinson Peete still doesn't have any closure when it comes to her unceremonious firing from daytime chat show The Talk in September, just days before the Season 2 launch. Now, the actress and host has opened up to the Hollywood Reporter about her final days on the CBS show.
"Usually when you get fired, your boss brings you in, sits you down and tells you why they can't keep you," Peete says. "They say, 'We have to downsize' or 'You're not doing this, you're not doing that.' I was never given that opportunity."
Before she was let go, she started "hearing rumors that other people were hired," she continues. "It was the most peculiar situation." Actually, it was more than peculiar, she says. "It was a very, very frustrating time—the most frustrating time of my professional life."
Peete does not confirm reports that her Talk co-host Julie Chen, who is married to CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves, had something to do with her dismissal from the show, but does drop a vague hint.
"The main issue with The Talk is when you have somebody who's in a power position and who can make decisions, there's not a lot of recourse, there's not a lot of discussion," she says. "And so because of that, they can pretty much do what they want."
But, that still doesn't leave her with answers as to why her contract, or co-host Leah Remini's, wasn't renewed. "I speculate in my mind, but in trying to move forward all I can say is, 'Hey, is it because of my performance?' I don't think so."
Peete isn't waiting by the phone for an apology or an explanation. The actress starts a multi-episode arc on Mike & Molly, starting Monday.
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