Holly Marie Combs 'disappointed' in Alyssa Milano, defends Shannen Doherty (original) (raw)
Alyssa Milano's never-ending clash with her Charmed costars continues to brew.
Holly Marie Combs is defending herself against what she's called "many continuing attacks" against her and Shannen Doherty after Milano denied involvement in Doherty's 2001 exit from the show. In a lengthy Instagram post shared Monday night, Combs said she was "a little shocked and a little disappointed, especially by the things [Milano] posted the next day while texting me simultaneously words to the contrary."
Reiterating that her claims about Doherty's firing was "not revisionist history," Combs said "this is just the history" Milano "didn't want people to know about, and the history Shannen wasn't ready to talk about until one month ago." Though she's tried to "shield the audience from our differences to protect something that indeed and still does have a heartbeat of its own," Combs said she has "a big problem with injustice."
Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano.
Everett Collection
“I heard that Alyssa said she did not have the power to fire anyone which is ironic because this was actually all about power," she continued. "But let’s go with that and let me explain what she did have the power to do. She had the power the stop the process at any time."
Combs claimed "there was a case being built" against Doherty, "a case Alyssa and Alyssa alone had the power to stop. . . She had the power to say no, just as Shannen had said, no, I don’t want you to replace Alyssa when posed with the same option."
Combs called Rose McGowan, who replaced Doherty as her long-lost half-sister Paige Matthews after Doherty's Prue was killed off in the season 3 finale, a "beacon" during a "dark time for me."
She added, "And now Rose and Shannen have a growing friendship and support system all their own which makes my little black heart grow."
Combs told Charmed fans not to despair, adding, "You are our only common denominator. Charmed was made for all of you and the truth of the matter is we all are, despite our differences, incredibly grateful for this dysfunctional family in every way."
In Combs' comment section, McGowan wrote: "Sometimes a mess has to be made for things to be cleaned up. This for me is way bigger than a TV show, it goes to years of continuous behind the scenes character assassination and targeted reputation smearing because of narcissistic pathological jealousy. I wish none of it had to be this way. I remain proud of everyone involved for the magic we wove and the magic created worldwide. Truth is uncomfortable, but magic never dies."
Combs previously claimed on Doherty's podcast that Milano issued an ultimatum to producers and that she threatened to sue production for a hostile work environment. Milano, denying the accusations at MegaCon Orlando over the weekend, said she was saddened by the assertions. "This was so long ago that any retelling of these stories from anyone is just revisionist history," she said in a follow-up Instagram post, adding, "I did not have the power to get anyone fired."
At the same convention during a separate panel alongside Combs and McGowen, Doherty doubled down on the claims in response to Milano's denial. "We simply told the truth because the truth actually does matter," Doherty said. "But we wanted to try to save you, the fans, from heartbreak as much as humanly possible."
An emotional Doherty added, "There is no revisionist history happening."
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