Charmed is loved by multiple generations of fans around the world – but a new claim from Holly Marie Combs suggests the behind-the-scenes drama of the hit show was anything but charming.
In an interview on her Charmed co-star Shannen Doherty's podcast “Let's Be Clear,” Combs said that Alyssa Milano fired Doherty from the series after the third season. Combs recalled a conversation she had with producer Jonathan Levin. “He said, you know, 'We're basically in a situation where it's one or the other.' We were told [by Alyssa] that it is so [Shannen] “or me and Alyssa threatened to sue each other for a hostile work environment” – and because she went to the therapist, the mediator, the corporate mediator, whatever his title is, she built herself a case where every time documented she felt uncomfortable on set and for some reason while she and I refused to speak to him. So that’s where the deck was stacked.”
Representatives for Milano did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
Doherty said she wanted to clarify the story surrounding her exit from the show. “I don't think there's anyone in their right mind who would give up a successful show that pays them a lot of money that they really enjoy working on, and that was my deal. Like I enjoyed it,” she said. “I remember [my representatives] She looked at me at the time and said, 'No, no, no, your career won't survive another layoff.' So we'll just say you've decided to leave.' And remember I started laughing and thought, 'Who's going to believe I'm crazy enough to leave a hit show?'”
Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano in Charmed.
Viacom/courtesy Everett Collection
Doherty also found it difficult to recall any source of tension that would have angered Milano. “I lived after it for a year, kind of replaying everything in my brain and I really enjoyed finding those moments… I couldn't find them. We never found out, privately or publicly.”
In the previous episode of the podcast, the duo recalled how Milano and her mother tried to break them up on the Charmed set. “It was really interesting [her] I tried to pull you away from me,” Doherty said. Their efforts went so far as to allegedly try to prevent Doherty from seeing Combs in the hospital after she underwent surgery. “Alyssa and her mother stopped people from seeing you back then. You didn’t know. I remember you texting me, 'Dude, will you come to me?'”
Milano says she made amends with her co-stars. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2021, Milano admitted how her competitiveness affected her relationships with her cast members.
“You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of the tension that we had,” Milano told Entertainment Tonight. “I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling competitive, rather than the sisterhood that the show was about. And I feel a certain amount of guilt about my part in it.”
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