The late Shannen Doherty’s 2001 firing from “Charmed” remains one of TV’s most infamous departures, and as revealed in a recent episode of the “House of Halliwell podcast, it’s something her former co-stars are still struggling to understand.
Doherty, who played eldest sister Prue Halliwell during the first three seasons, was fired from The WB’s hit witch series after Alyssa Milano, who portrayed youngest sister Phoebe, allegedly demanded that her co-star be removed from the show or else she’d walk. Milano denies getting Doherty fired from “Charmed,” noting that decisions like that were above her pay grade.
That said, Holly Marie Combs, who played middle sister Piper, is firmly on Doherty’s side. During a recent episode of the show’s rewatch podcast, which Combs co-hosts with “Charmed” co-stars Brian Krause and Drew Fuller, she asserted that everyone involved in the series is too scared to discuss the truth out of fear of the fandom fighting back. However, she maintains that the decision to fire Doherty and kill off her character following the Season 3 finale was wrong.
“There was just so many different ways it could have been handled,” Combs said. “And the fact of the matter is it was handled so s****ily. It was such a massive insult to injury to let her direct [the season 3 finale] and go out on this high note. Like, it’s just so sick and twisted.”
Combs has backed up some details from Doherty’s story in the past, claiming that a producer told her that Milano made the network choose between the pair and threatened to sue, forcing them into a sticky situation. As previously mentioned, though, Milano disputes these accusations, and regrets that she and her former co-stars haven’t been able to move past the situation.
Alyssa Milano’s response to drama with Charmed co-stars
Regardless of what happened to cause the rift between Alyssa Milano and Shannen Doherty on “Charmed,” it’s clear that the actors never made amends in the years that followed. While everyone moved on with their lives and careers to an extent, Milano has been open about the long-term ramifications of the feud.
“I’m the most sad for the fans,” Milano told a panel hosted by Collider at MegaCon in 2024. “I’m the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day, almost a quarter of a century later, still happening. And I’m sad that people can’t move past it. And I’m sad that we all can’t just celebrate the success of a show that meant so much to all of us.”
Doherty later responded to Milano’s MegaCon comments about the drama on “Charmed,” saying that she was still dealing with trauma brought on by the experience, and that only she spoke up about it years later to heal from it.
Rose McGowan, who joined the cast as Paige Halliwell after Doherty left the series, chimed in afterward to criticize Milano, saying that everyone had been protecting her for years by keeping quiet. Doherty died in 2024 at the age 53, and Milano was among the “Charmed” and “90210” cast members who paid tribute to her following the tragedy.