Sarah Michelle Gellar discussed the tension between her friend Shannen Doherty and former Charmed costar Alyssa Milano, praising Doherty for “sharing her truths” with the audience.
The Emmy-winning actress, 46, joins the conversation E! News Sunday, when Doherty, 52, and Milano, 51, exchanged words in recent weeks about the circumstances behind Doherty’s departure from the WB show in 2001.
Gellar, who starred in her own hit series Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 1997 to 2003, said “it was a tough time” for her longtime friend Doherty, adding, “I was there for it.”
The Cruel Intentions star said she was proud of and supported Doherty, who has been candid about her personal and professional struggles in recent years, including her ongoing battle with stage 4 breast cancer.
“I think right now Shannen just wants to share her truths in general,” Gellar told the outlet. ‘The amazing thing about her is that, flaws and all, she shows everything. I will support her.’
Sarah Michelle Gellar, 46, chimed in about the tension between her friend Shannen Doherty, 52, and former Charmed costar Alyssa Milano, 51, praising Doherty for “sharing her truths” with the audience. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer star was pictured in Cannes, France last year
The Cruel Intentions star said she was proud of and supported Doherty, who has been candid about her personal and professional struggles in recent years, including her ongoing battle with stage 4 breast cancer
The Scooby-Doo actress added, “I know it wasn’t the easiest time, but now she’s a different person.”
Gellar, mother of two with husband Freddie Prinze Jr., 47, daughter Charlotte, 14, and son Rocky, 11, explained how she has grown close to the Beverly Hills, 90120 star after decades of friendship.
“Our relationship has grown because we have grown,” she said. “We’ve had experiences and life is complicated. And we were able to experience it together, so you grow together.’
The issue between Doherty and Milano came into the public eye when Doherty welcomed their Charmed co-star Holly Marie Combs to her podcast Let’s be clear in December.
Combs, 50, played the role of Piper Halliwell in all 179 episodes of the series from 1998-2006, while Doherty played the role of Prue Halliwell in 67 episodes of the WB show Charmed from 1998-2001, leaving after the third of the series. eight seasons.
On the podcast, Combs detailed past tensions between the series’ cast members, saying that the show’s producer, Jonathan Levin, admitted to her that Milano had told producers she would leave the show if Doherty was on it to stay.
Combs said Levin told her producers that they had been “backed into this corner” and were in a “position where it was one or the other.”
In addition, Combs said Levin told her that Milano had documented “every time she felt uncomfortable on set” and “threatened to sue (for) a hostile work environment” if she were the one to leave.
Milano, pictured in Orlando earlier this month, has denied playing a role in Doherty’s departure from Charmed in 2001
Gellar told the outlet, “I think right now Shannen just wants to share her truths in general. The amazing thing about her is that, flaws and all, she shows everything. I will support her.’ The friends were photographed in LA in 2016
Gellar explained how she became close to the Beverly Hills, 90120 star after decades of friendship: ‘Our relationship has grown because we have grown’
Milano denied playing a role in Doherty’s departure from the series in an Instagram post she made on February 3.
“I didn’t have the power to get anyone fired,” Milano said. “When Shannen left, we had five more successful seasons and I am forever grateful.”
Combs said in a comment on Instagram earlier this month that Milano did not take full responsibility for her past actions regarding Charmed.
“I heard Alyssa say she didn’t have the power to fire anyone, which is ironic because this was really all about power,” Combs said. “But let’s go ahead and explain to me what she did have the power to do.”
Combs said Milano “had the power to stop the process at any time.”
She added, “When the producers said, okay, we’re letting Shannen go, Alyssa also had the power to say no, I don’t want that. But she didn’t. She had the power to say no, just like Shannen had said no. I don’t want you to replace Alyssa when you’re given the same option.”
Doherty later released a statement saying, “Holly and I, we weren’t mean on the podcast – my podcast, Let’s Be Clear. In fact, we went in and removed anything we thought would cause more drama.
‘We simply told the truth, because the truth really matters. But we wanted to try to save you, the fans, from heartbreak as much as possible.’
Milano, Combs and Doherty seen in a promotional photo for the series, which debuted in 1998
Doherty played the role of Prue Halliwell in 67 episodes of the WB show Charmed from 1998-2001, leaving after the third of the show’s eight seasons.
Rose McGowan played a leading role in the show after Doherty left the cast in 2001.
Doherty alluded to tensions on the set of the fantasy drama in 2001 when she told it Entertainment tonight about her departure from the series: ‘I want to work with actors who really care and who want to be there every day.
“I don’t want to work with people who whine about their work, complain about it and say they hate it or something else.”
Rose McGowan appeared on the show in subsequent seasons, saying in her 2018 book Brave, “I wasn’t going to play the role of Shannen, but it was still someone new for the fans to bond with… I knew I had a small chance of success here.’
She said the show was “a very stressful environment at times” and that she “started having panic attacks because of everything that was pushing (she) down.”
Doherty and Combs have remained on good terms, as they starred together in the 2015 travel series Off the Map With Shannen & Holly.
Milan in 2021 told Entertainment tonight that she and Doherty – whom she called “a great actress” – were on “cordial” terms.
“You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of the tension that we had,” she told the outlet. “I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling like I was in a competition, rather than it being about that sisterhood that the show was so much about. And I feel guilty about my part in it.’
