THE Talk’s Sheryl Underwood has been “blindsided” by executives after they hired new co-host Natalie Morales, as she feels she is “not getting enough attention.”
Sheryl, 57, Amanda Kloots, Jerry O’Connell, Akbar Gbajabiamila and Natalie, 49, are the current hosts of The Talk after the recent departures of Sharon Osbourne, Carrie Ann Inaba and Elaine Welteroth.
A source exclusively claimed to The Sun that Sheryl was “blindsided” by Natalie’s addition to the talk show, as she “felt she should have been consulted and kept in the loop out of respect for her seniority with the show.”
The insider continued to allege: “There is so much hoopla surrounding Natalie and so much publicity and airtime devoted to her joining the show.
“Amanda has Dancing With the Stars and is getting lots of attention so that makes Sheryl feel like she's not getting the eyeballs that she wants.
“Sheryl feels she isn't getting credit for being the glue that holds the show together.”
Natalie has also been moderating during her premiere week, as the source continued to claim: “Natalie was the clear choice for moderator.
“Sheryl would love that role and to be the main star of the show, but Natalie is a much bigger name and has earned to be the lead because she brings gravitas, experience and her following from her years at NBC.
“Everyone hopes Natalie can be the secret sauce to improved ratings."
Bu a separate inside show source told The Sun: "The hosts and show are in a great place right now, everything is clicking creatively and everyone is excited to be working together.”
A rep for Sheryl did not respond to The Sun's request for comment.
ANGER MANAGEMENT CLAIMS
In March, original host Sharon Osbourne, 69, quit the show after her on-air fight with Sheryl over her decision to stand by her friend Piers Morgan's criticism of Meghan Markle.
The insider alleged: “Many people still can't get over what happened and hold it against Sheryl whether that is fair or not.
“Sheryl feels still covered in the mess that happened with Sharon.”
The fight was brought up again when Sharon claimed on The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM that Sheryl was sent to anger management three times for “mistreating producers.”
During the interview, Sharon alleged: “Sheryl had three complaints about her from different producers about the way she treated them,” adding: “They called me and I said, ‘You cannot get rid of Sheryl. There is no way. She can't take that. You just can't do it.’
“So they sent her to anger management. So, it's alright to treat producers that way, but I can't say anything to a co-host.”
Sharon then said her comments about Sheryl continued to cause an uproar behind the scenes of the show, alleging: “When it came out that I was mouthing about Sheryl being at anger management because of the way she treated the staff, of course, they were all like panic, panic, panic.
“And listen, none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. Everybody does. Nobody's perfect.
“And I'm not saying that Sheryl was a terrible person because she treated producers the way she did.”
SHERYL'S FEUD WITH JERRY
The Sun previously reported on Sheryl’s spats with her co-hosts in the past.
A source told The Sun in May that Sheryl and Elaine were “not happy” that Jerry was in negotiations to replace Sharon.
The source claimed: “On camera everyone is lovey-dovey and laughing together, but off camera Sheryl and Elaine have raised some serious concerns.
"Sheryl thinks Jerry is fine for the Men of May month producers planned, but beyond that she feels we are telling the audience that women cannot behave themselves and be friends.
“It's not the narrative Sheryl wants out there and she thinks it would further damage public perception.”
While Jerry was in Sharon’s coveted middle seat during his time guest hosting, Sheryl began sitting there after he was hired as a permanent host.
A source told The Sun of the seating shakeup: “Sheryl took Jerry’s middle seat, which was the Sharon chair, to send the message that SHE is the star of the show.
“Jerry has a side chair now. Battle of the egos!”
TENSION WITH CARRIE ANN
Sheryl also had tension with Carrie Ann, 53, before she took a leave of absence and left the show.
A source previously claimed to The Sun: “Sheryl is thrilled Carrie Ann is gone for now.
“Now Sheryl feels the show can assemble their dream team of co-hosts to give The View a run for their money, instead of the slow walk The Talk has been doing.”
The source continued that Sheryl “loves moderating” the show and "being the focal point of every conversation.”
The source added: “She didn't think Carrie Ann did a good job of leading the show. Sheryl feels she is much more capable and has a more dynamic personality for the job.”
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