Holly Marie Combs expressed her disappointment in Alyssa Milano after the latter denied being involved in Shannen Doherty’s firing from “Charmed.”
“I feel the need to defend myself after the many continuing attacks that have ensued since Alyssa stepped out on the stage [at MegaCon] and essentially called Shannen and I liars,” Combs wrote in a lengthy Instagram post Monday.
“Suffice to say I’m a little shocked and a little disappointed especially by the things she posted the next day while texting me simultaneously words to the contrary. Sadly that’s not a [sic] surprising anymore,” she continued.
The “Pretty Little Liars” alum shut down Milano’s claim that she and Doherty were creating a “revisionist history,” saying their stories are “just the history [Milano] didn’t want people to know about.”
“I heard that Alyssa said she did not have the power to fire anyone which is ironic because this was actually all about power. 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,” she wrote.
Combs, 50, claimed “there was a case being built” against Doherty, 52, behind the scenes of the WB show, and Milano, 51, “alone had the power to stop” the firing.
“And when the producers said ok we will let Shannen go Alyssa also had the power to say no I don’t want that. But she did not. 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,” she claimed.
Combs explained that Doherty was a “child actor who supported a family just as Alyssa does and understood the great importance and responsibility of that.”
“Even now this pains me to write. It was heartbreaking then and still now. And I think a lot of the blame still remains with the producers who knew it was easier to keep us divided as opposed to united. 3 broken pieces were easier to control and manipulate than one united front,” she wrote.
Combs ended her message by expressing how “it all worked out as destiny would have it” when Rose McGowan took over the third leading role upon Doherty’s exit after Season 3.
“We are still a family of survivors and we always will be. Truly. Charmed was made for all of you and lastly the truth of the matter is we all are, despite our differences, incredibly grateful for this dysfunctional family in every way. The End,” she concluded.
Neither Doherty nor Milano has publicly responded to the statement, but McGowan, 50, commented in part, “I wish none of it had to be this way.”
Combs aired out her feelings two days after Milano denied her and Doherty’s claims that the “Who’s the Boss?” alum had the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star fired from “Charmed.”
“I did not have the power to get anyone fired. once Shannen left we had 5 more successful seasons and I am forever grateful,” she wrote in part in a lengthy Instagram post Saturday.
Milano spoke out on social media after being asked about the drama at MegaCon in Orlando, Fla., last week.
“I knew this was going to come up in one way or another, and I want to be very thoughtful in how I respond to any of this,” she said onstage at the festival. “I will just say that I’m sad.”
The “Melrose Place” alum expressed her heartbreak over the fantasy series being “tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day, almost a quarter of a century later, still happening.”
“I’m sad that people can’t move past it,” she continued. “I’m sad that we all can’t just celebrate the success of a show that meant so much to all of us.”
Doherty became emotional talking about Milano’s “very hurtful” comments at the same festival Sunday.
“We simply told the truth because the truth actually does matter. But we wanted to try to save you, the fans, from heartbreak as much as humanly possible,” she said while tearing up.
Combs and Doherty previously claimed Milano had pressured the network to fire Doherty in a December episode of the “Heathers” star’s “Let’s Be Clear” podcast.
“‘We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen], and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment,’” Combs claimed a producer told her at the time.
Doherty further alleged that she did “not ever remember being mean” on set.
