‘The Talk’ on brief hiatus while CBS investigates Sharon Osbourne outburst

“The Talk” will fall silent on Monday and Tuesday as those days’ shows are canceled while CBS takes a look at the racism-linked exchange between co-hosts Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood last week.

CBS had previously announced an investigation after Osbourne’s outburst in defense of Piers Morgan, who vehemently expressed skepticism at Meghan Markle’s description of her time living with Britain’s royal family. Now it will halt taping entirely for two days, Deadline reported Sunday evening.

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It happened last Wednesday, during the unpacking of the Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, in which the latter confessed that the pressures of living in the palace had driven her to feel suicidal.

British television personality Morgan, who had long seemed to hold a grudge against Meghan, lashed out on his own show, ITV’s “Good Morning Britain,” in disbelief at her claims. He then stormed off it, and soon afterward quit entirely after tens of thousands of complaints poured in.

Osbourne leaped to her friend’s defense on her own show, challenging the notion that Morgan’s skepticism was racist. She dragged Underwood into the fray, demanding specific examples of racism from Morgan’s rant. Underwood said the racism lay in the “implication and the reaction to” Meghan’s story – Morgan’s dismissiveness of Meghan’s account of her lived experience.

“Everybody, especially people of color, (goes) through this all the time, there’s just no cameras pointing at you,” Underwood said two days later on “The Steve Harvey Morning Show,” according to USA Today. “Nobody gets to see it, nobody knows it. And today was my day and I accept the blessing of the lesson.”

Osbourne later apologized, but it may have been too little, too late. Having launched the investigation, CBS has canceled its live shows for the two days. Elizabeth Vargas had been scheduled for Monday, and Carly Pearce for Tuesday, Deadline said, noting that the show is slated to return back live on Wednesday.

“We are committed to a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace,” CBS said after the show aired. “All matters related to the Wednesday episode of ‘The Talk’ are currently under internal review.”