Shortly before her death, Shannen Doherty praised Alyssa Milano’s work on “Charmed,” despite the longtime feud between the former co-stars.
Milano, 51, portrayed Phoebe Halliwell on the show, but the role wasn’t immediately hers. Lori Rom filmed an unaired pilot as Phoebe alongside stars Doherty and Holly-Marie Combs, who played the other Halliwell sisters.
Doherty claimed Milano brought a “different flavor” to the role that was needed during an episode of “The House of Halliwell” podcast, released on July 16.
“Lori and Alyssa are very, very, very different people. So, Lori’s performance was different than Alyssa’s. Lori was a lot like Holly and I in the sense of [being] very grounded in drama,” Doherty recalled. “The presentation was much more serious, and it was way darker, which was my style. So, I loved the presentation, and I thought everybody was great.”
“When Alyssa came in, it provided a levity that I think the show ended up needing,” she added. “She came in and she did a great job. And yeah, just brought, like, a slightly different flavor to the show.”
This podcast episode was recorded before Doherty’s death. Co-hosts Combs, Brian Krause and Drew Fuller announced they will release the first five episodes to honor the actress.
Doherty’s positive words about Milano may come as a surprise, as the two have known issues.
Combs, 50, claimed that Milano got the late actress fired at the end of Season 3 during an episode of Doherty’s “Let’s Be Clear” podcast in January.
“We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen] and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment,’” Combs recalled producer Jonathan Levin telling her about Doherty’s firing.
Milano shared a statement to Instagram at the time, claiming she never had the power to get anyone fired.
“Everything was documented,” Milano claimed of her time on the “Charmed” set. “There was a professional mediator (I was told Holly and Shannen would not participate in any mediation) and an on-set producer/babysitter who were both brought in to investigate all claims.”
“I did not have the power to get anyone fired. Once Shannen left we had 5 more successful seasons and I am forever grateful,” she added in her statement. Additionally, Doherty claimed that Milano and her mother, Lin, prevented her from visiting Combs in the hospital after she had a tumor removed from her uterus. Milano’s mom denied the claims.
The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star got emotional when addressing the topic during a MegaCon Orlando panel in February.
“What I will say is that what somebody else may call ‘drama’ is an actual trauma for me, that I have been living through it for an extremely long time,” Doherty said at the time. “And it is only through my battle with cancer that I decided to address this trauma and be open and honest about it so that I can actually heal from a livelihood that was taken from me, a livelihood that was taken away from my family, because someone else wanted to be No. 1 on the call sheet. That is the truth.”
Milano addressed the accusations during a separate “Charmed” MegaCon panel.
“I am the most sad 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,” she said at the time. “I’m sad that people can’t move past it. I’m sad that we all can’t just celebrate the success of a show that meant so much to all of us.”
The “Who’s the Boss?” actress also revealed she wished that she could be on stage with Doherty and Combs at the Orlando event, especially because she feels she has apologized for “whatever part [she] played in the situation.”
Doherty responded to Milano’s claims again at MegaCon, saying: “At this point in my life, with my health diagnosis, with fighting a horrific disease every day of my life, it is also incredibly important to me that the truth actually be told as opposed to the narrative that others put out there for me.”
“There is no revisionist history happening in the truth that I know we told. There’s no brush flinging or shoe flinging. There is no lateness to set. There is no mediator for months on end,” she added.
Doherty’s death on Saturday came after a nearly 10-year battle with cancer. The actress was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and after a period of remission, the disease returned in 2019.
In 2023, Doherty revealed it had spread to her bones and eventually her brain.
Her publicist, Leslie Sloane, confirmed the actress’s death at 53 on Sunday in a statement to People.
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease,” she shared. “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace.”
Milano reacted to the death of her former co-star in a statement to The Post on Sunday.
“It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” she said. “She was a talented actress, beloved by many and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”
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