Shannen Doherty Reveals Her ‘Charmed’ Exit Was Due to Alyssa Milano

The 90s hit TV show “Charmed” was all about the adventures of three sisters with magical powers. When it debuted in 1998, Shannen Doherty played Prue, alongside Holly Marie Combs as Piper and Alyssa Milano as Phoebe. But in a twist, Doherty’s character Prue was written out in the third season and replaced by Paige Matthews, played by Rose McGowan.

Recently, on her podcast “Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty,” Doherty finally set the record straight about leaving “Charmed.” In a conversation with her former co-star, Holly Marie Combs, Doherty revealed she was actually fired, despite previously saying she quit after the third season in 2001.

Doherty expressed, “The narrative that I ‘quit’ was assigned to me by other people… I loved going to that job. I loved the people I worked with.” She mentioned that her team suggested she claim she left voluntarily to avoid harming her career. ‘No, no, no, your career won’t survive another firing [following her exit from the Beverly Hills, 90210 series], so we’re just going to say that you chose to leave,” the producers told her. 

In their discussion, Combs recounted her memories of Doherty’s departure from the show. She remembered a meeting with producer Jonathan Levin where he confirmed that Milano had given them an ultimatum. Combs recalled Levin saying, “We were told that it’s her or me. Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment. Alyssa documented every time she felt uncomfortable on set… So that’s where the deck was stacked.”

Combs believes that such threats wouldn’t be acceptable today, noting that there were no visible conflicts on set. 

Doherty also mentioned that she never remembered being mean to Milano on set. She even recalled an episode she directed for “Charmed” where she was particularly accommodating to all of Milano’s requests. But the actress disclosed the factors that contributed to her rift with Alyssa.

Reflecting on the early days of “Charmed,” Doherty shared that she was the first cast, leveraging her star power. She was even offered to appear solo on the cover of Rolling Stone. “The competitiveness was kicking in. And I’m not saying with you, I’m saying with Alyssa and myself, that there was a lack of female support,” Doherty said.

Doherty decided to speak out because she couldn’t keep up with the false narrative: “One can’t keep telling the same story over and over again, when it’s not the truth.”

Regarding her decision to finally reveal the truth about leaving the series, Doherty commented: “One can’t keep telling the same story over and over and over again, when it’s not the truth.”