Spell-casting, sisterhood and a perplexing number of leprechaun-centric episodes aside, the lasting legacy of “Charmed” all these years later is how much the stars clashed behind the scenes.
Much of the on-set tension stemmed from co-stars Alyssa Milano and Shannen Doherty’s long-rumored feud, with the latter abruptly exiting the WB series at the conclusion of the third season, leaving audiences stunned and the show in jeopardy.
But time (and a book promotion tour) heals all wounds, as Milano recently reflected on her fractured relationship with Doherty during an interview about her upcoming memoir, “Sorry Not Sorry.”
“I would say we are cordial,” she told Entertainment Tonight about her former co-star. “You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of our tension that we had. I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood that the show was so much about. And I have some guilt about my part in that.”
Milano partly credits her change of heart to Doherty’s health struggles over the past several years ― the actor is living with stage 4 breast cancer after previously announcing she was in remission in 2017.
“When I heard about her diagnosis, I reached out to her,” Milano added “And I will send her DMs every couple of months to just check in.”
She continued, “I have respect for her. Great actress, loves her family so much, and I just wish I could’ve felt strong enough in who I was to recognize that back then.”
During the best of times, Doherty and co-star Holly Marie Combs were bridesmaids at Milano’s wedding, and at the worst, they wouldn’t even acknowledge each other on set.
“There were times when I’d come in and say, ‘Good morning, Shannen,’ and she didn’t say anything to me,” Milano once admitted. “And there were times when she’d come in and say, ‘Good morning, Alyssa,’ and I wouldn’t say anything to her.”
In an interview about her exit from the show at the time, Doherty said that there was “too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work,” before pointedly blasting “people who bitch about their job and complain about it and say that they hate it or anything else.”
Combs later said that “there were no angels” among the original trio, adding, “We all had our bad days. We all [got] stressed out.”
Of course, things were anything but charmed after Doherty left the show, as Milano has also repeatedly clashed with Rose McGowan, who joined the series as a new sister in the show’s fourth season.
Amid one of their many political scuffles on social media in recent years, McGowan publicly called Milano “a lie” and accused her of making the atmosphere on the “Charmed” set “toxic AF.”
Speaking with HuffPost about McGowan’s attacks in 2019, Milano said the actor is dealing with her own trauma “the best that she can.”
“She’s always been very strong in who she is,” she said of McGowan. “I can’t even go there as far as what that trauma must’ve been like and to have to relive it in such a public way. Personally, the fact she attacked me in the process, I think, is super fucked up, but I can look at her and say that this is a person hurting and hope she finds the strength and love she needs to heal.”
On that note, does anyone know a good cleansing spell?
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.