Sheryl Underwood was caught on camera defending comedian George Lopez after he called a black woman a ‘b***h’ and joked that the number one rule in the Latino community is ‘don’t marry somebody black’, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The controversial comedian made the comment during a foul-mouthed on-stage rant during a show in Phoenix, Arizona, in February 2017. He then lashed out at an audience member for reacting negatively to his joke.
In an episode of The Talk screened four days later, Underwood came to his defense – telling co-hosts: ‘I would have said, “b***h, that’s why nobody’s going to marry you cause you talking in my show.’
Underwood, 57, is currently embroiled in a very public spat with co-host Sharon Osbourne, 68, after the veteran British star came to Piers Morgan’s defense after he said he didn’t believe a word Meghan Markle said during her Oprah interview.
Scroll down for video
Sheryl Underwood came to George Lopez’s defense on The Talk in 2017 after he was heckled by a black woman who took offense to his racist joke
Lopez, 59, lashed out at the woman, calling her a ‘b***h’ and booting her out of his Phoenix show four years ago after she flipped him off from the crowd when she became offended by his joke
Days later, Underwood discussed the incident with her co-hosts and suggested the audience member was in the wrong
During an angry exchange on the March 10 show, a tearful Underwood said she believed Morgan’s ‘dismissal’ of Markle’s claims was racist.
The show has now been put on hiatus until next Tuesday pending an investigation by CBS bosses.
However, sources told DailyMail.com that they found watching Underwood angrily attack Osbourne for defending Morgan ‘hypocritical’ given her past defense of Lopez.
Lopez made his outburst during a show on February 4, 2017 after he was heckled by the audience member who had taken offense to a racially charged joke.
In response, the comedian screamed: ‘You paid to see a show, sit your a** down. [If] you can’t take a joke, you’re at the wrong motherf***ing place.
‘Sit your f***ing a** down or get the f*** out of here. There’s still two rules in the f***ing Latino family: Don’t marry somebody black and don’t park in front of our house.’
Sources told DailyMail.com that they found watching Underwood angrily attack Osbourne for defending Morgan ‘hypocritical’ given her past defense of Lopez
The clip has resurfaced as Underwood’s spat with co-host Sharon Osbourne continues to make waves. Osbourne was accused of being racist for defending her friend Piers Morgan in the wake of his Meghan Markle comments
Four days after the incident, Underwood came to his defense during an episode of The Talk screened on February 8, adding:
‘See, that is why we don’t want to be recorded inside of the venue. Because if you just look at the outside in, you think: “Oh, he’s attacking this black woman,” but once you throw up the bird twice and you are in the first few rows, you have now inserted yourself into the show and it depends on the mood of the comic on how they handle it.’
Underwood said that jokes at stand-up shows ‘seem to be more racial, more sexist’, but audience members have to ‘expect what happens in the house.’
‘He who holds the mic, or she who holds the mic, runs the house,’ she added.
She then went on to say: ‘I am pro-black female, but if you put yourself into it, you gon’ get lit up. I would’ve said: ‘b***h, that’s why nobody’s going to marry you cause you talking in my show.’
A source told DailyMail.com that Underwood – who became visibly upset during her on-air row with Osbourne last week – is also having anger management classes after allegedly bullying producers on the show.
The insider said: ‘In July of last year three producers from The Talk went to HR about Sheryl Underwood’s constant bullying.
Osbourne (far right) and Underwood (second from left) got into a heated exchange over Osbourne’s support for her friend Piers Morgan (third from left), who has come under fire for comments he made about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Morgan posted this photo in February 2020 of the show’s former panel from last year. From left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Underwood, Morgan, Marie Osmond, and Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne tells DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview that she never called Julie Chen a ‘wonton’ and those claims are ‘crap, all crap’
‘Sheryl threw a producer out of her dressing room. He became terrified of her. She was later brought into HR and told that she had to go into anger management.
‘However, she only recently started the anger management program because of Covid. It’s well known on set that Sheryl is very volatile.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Underwood and CBS for comment.
The newly resurfaced clip emerged as the row between Underwood and Osbourne continues to make waves, with Osbourne fighting back in an interview with DailyMail.com.
She told DailyMail.com that she was blindsided and believes the debate was ‘a set up’ by CBS bigwigs who ordered Underwood to attack her over her defense of Morgan after fellow co-host Elaine Welteroth refused.
She said: ‘I found out later on, they’d asked Elaine to start off the segment and she said, no I’m not doing it.
‘She kept saying, “where’s the evidence that Piers is a racist? Where’s the evidence? Show me”. Of course, they couldn’t show her anything because there wasn’t anything.’
In the interview, Osbourne asked: ‘But why is it that because I supported a long-time friend and work colleague of mine for years that everybody goes, if you support him, then you must be racist because he’s racist?
‘This is the situation. You tell me where you have heard him say, educate me, tell me when you have heard him [Morgan] say racist things. Educate me. Tell me.’
A tearful Underwood replied: ‘It is not the exact words of racism. It is the implication and the reaction to it.
‘To not want to address that, because she is a black woman, and to try and dismiss it or to make it seem less than it is. That’s what makes it racist.’
Osbourne has also faced further accusations of racism leveled by former co-stars Julie Chen, Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete.
Both Robinson Peete and Remini claim they were described as ‘ghetto’ by Osbourne, while Chen claims the 68-year-old referred to her as a ‘wonton’.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Osbourne angrily denied the claims and said the spate of claims amounted to a pile-on.
She said: ‘Everyone’s got an opinion or a story like the wonton story. It’s like f*** off with your f***ing wonton story. F*** off!
The Talk was initially put on hiatus until Wednesday while executives investigated. Following the Chen and Gilbert allegations, CBS issued a statement saying it had extended the broadcast suspension until next Tuesday
‘Everybody’s got an opinion and everybody’s got a voice – it’s fine. It’s about knowing somebody’s been called out for something and then somebody else is like, “yes!! I’m going to add something too”.
‘Of course, it’s a pile on. People want to add fuel to the fire and it comes with the territory and that’s fine. I can say f*** you all.’
Asked if she had ever called Chen a wonton or referred to Remini as ghetto, she added: ‘It’s all crap. It’s all crap.
‘In situations like this, you’re always going to get people who you’ve had disagreements with in the past, people who’ve got axes to grind, who come out of the woodwork and they’ll come out with their BS and that’s it. It doesn’t surprise me at all. It doesn’t surprise me.’
She added: ‘Being accused of racism is no joke. Now they get their sweet revenge. I can’t even address it because it’s kids in a schoolyard.
‘Coming out with stupid, childish comments – it’s like really? That’s all you’ve got?’