The Talk's Elaine Welteroth responds to leaked backstage recording with Sharon Osbourne: "I was unlawfully recorded without consent"

ETonline

Welteroth has responded to The Daily Mail's article, allegedly showing her comforting Osbourne after the March 10 show and telling her she was "set up." In a statement to ET, Welteroth said her comments were recorded "without my consent or knowledge. I have refrained from speaking with the press or engaging in dialogue on this issue. I reluctantly wade into this now simply to ensure that, as a Black woman, I am not silenced or side-lined. What I am sharing today is consistent with what I have already shared on camera. Nothing has changed. It is not news that I did not call Sharon a racist and it is certainly not news that the way the show unfolded caught us all by surprise. None of us wanted that day to go how it did and I do not regret sharing these feelings in a private conversation with a colleague. I welcome fair, constructive dialogue and I am no stranger to tough conversations about race. But I will not be vilified for telling the truth, on or off-air. To set the record straight, it was not a hot mic—I was unlawfully recorded without consent. And I never filed a complaint with HR against Sharon Osbourne or anyone else. I am disheartened, however, that my kindness has been taken out of context and weaponized in an attempt to absolve responsibility for someone else’s actions."