What Happened between Shannen Doherty & Alyssa Milano – inside Their Scandal

Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano’s relationship was defined by on-screen sisterhood and off-screen drama. Their conflict on the iconic show “Charmed” resurfaced in late 2023 thanks to a podcast. Now, with Doherty’s passing, many want to know more details of what happened between them. Did Milano ruin Doherty’s career? Let’s find out!

Shannen Doherty’s Passing and Several Difficulties

The actress, known for her roles in “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed,” died on Saturday, July 13, at the age of 53. Her longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, confirmed that Doherty lost her battle with cancer after many years.

She passed away surrounded by loved ones and her dog, Bowie.

This battle began in 2015 when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. After initially going into remission in 2017, her cancer returned in 2019, progressing to stage 4.

In June 2023, Doherty revealed that the condition had spread to her brain, and she needed surgery to remove a tumor she had named Bob. Throughout this, Doherty remained determined to continue working and living life to the fullest.

“I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better,” she assured the public.

Her resilience and openness about her struggle made her an inspiration to many, who remember her characters, Brenda Walsh and Prue Halliwell, fondly.

True to her word, Doherty continued to work while getting cancer treatment and participated in the “Beverly Hills, 90210” reboot in 2019.

In her final interview with People in November 2023, the actress expressed her gratitude for life and described her spiritual beliefs.

“My greatest memory is yet to come,” she said. “I pray. I wake up and go to bed thanking God, praying for the things that matter to me without asking for too much. It connects me to a higher power and spirituality. My faith is my mantra.”

Adding to her health struggles, Doherty faced financial difficulties amid a divorce from her estranged husband, Kurt Iswarienko.

In a legal filing, she accused him of prolonging the proceedings in the hope that she would die before being required to pay spousal support.

Doherty requested $15,343 a month because her income had significantly decreased over the past year due to her medical costs, lack of work, and reduced residuals from “Charmed.”

Meanwhile, her ex-husband continued to live a lavish lifestyle, spending money on luxury items and travel while claiming insufficient funds to support her.

There’s nothing like money troubles to make an already complicated situation worse, and in the meantime, her long-standing pseudo-feud with Alyssa Milano resurfaced.

The Drama with Milano

The tension between Doherty and her co-star on the set of “Charmed” has been a topic of discussion among fans and viewers for years.

When Doherty left the show in 2001, she hinted at on-set issues in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. She expressed her desire to work with actors who genuinely cared and were committed to being present every day. According to the actress, there was excessive drama on the set and insufficient passion for the work.

At the time, her departure was shrouded in speculation about behind-the-scenes conflicts. She fueled these rumors by stating, “I don’t want to work with people who [expletive] about their job and complain about it and say that they hate it or anything else.”

Notably, she only expressed that she would miss her other co-start, Holly Marie Combs, conspicuously omitting any mention of Milano.

However, in December 2023, Doherty shed new light on her exit from “Charmed” during an episode of her podcast “Let’s Be Clear.”

Contrary to the long-standing narrative that she left the show willingly, Doherty claimed she was fired after Milano threatened production with a lawsuit. The actress revealed that the story of her having “quit” was assigned to her by others.

Combs, who played Piper on “Charmed,” corroborated Doherty’s account on the podcast. She recounted a meeting with producer Jonathan Levin, where he allegedly confirmed Milano’s ultimatum:

“We were told that it’s her or me. Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment.”

Still, Doherty expressed her love for the show and everyone in it. “I loved going to that job. I loved the people that I worked with,” she said. The actress also mentioned that she didn’t recall being mean to Milano on set, even accommodating her needs when directing an episode.

But the actress also added that there was no hate or resentment anymore. This was just their way to clear the air and tell fans the real story.

Furthermore, Doherty had to admit that she was encouraged to go along with the narrative that she chose to leave the show for her own sake. Her representatives told her her career wouldn’t “survive” being dismissed from another show, which originally happened with “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

Combs added that Milano had allegedly built a case against Doherty by documenting every time she felt uncomfortable on set. According to her, this approach “wouldn’t [expletive] fly” by today’s standards.

But at the end of the day, there were no on-set brawls or harsh words exchanged, as some people may still believe. Instead, there was a competitive dynamic that developed between Doherty and Milano until the former’s exit.

Doherty mentioned she was the first member cast for the show and was offered a solo appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone after its success. After that, the actress noticed a “lack of female support” coming from her co-star.

Milano Reacted to the Podcast

The actress, who played Phoebe on “Charmed,” addressed the resurfaced drama during a panel at MegaCon in Orlando.

After a question from a fan, Milano took the opportunity to address what she called “the elephant in the room.” She acknowledged the podcast statements made by Doherty and Combs, as well as past comments from Rose McGowan, who played Paige on the show once Doherty left.

Ultimately, she expressed mostly disappointment. “I’m the most sad for the fans,” Milano stated. “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.”

The actress later took to Instagram to elaborate on her perspective, “I don’t wanna add on to anyone else’s pain because I don’t think that’s cool either.”

Milano maintained that the events happened over two decades ago. “Any retelling of these stories from anyone is just revisionist history,” she elaborated.

Her post also detailed that a professional mediator looked into the accusations. Ultimately, the studio, Aaron Spelling, and the network decided to let Doherty go to “protect the international hit that was ‘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,” Milano concluded her post.

The actress also thanked the fans who have had to deal with the ongoing drama and wished her former co-stars, Holly, Shannen, and Rose, “peace and light.” Milano even added that they had “bigger demons to fight.”

Her followers rallied around her, with one commenting, “It’s very sad that it turned out this way, but Alyssa, we believe in you!”

Others expressed frustration with the ongoing feud, writing, “I can’t believe this is still being talked about. It’s the people who keep asking the ‘Charmed’ actresses questions about it who keep it alive. Leave them ALL alone about it and let it go [sic].”

Doherty Was Also at MegaCon on a Separate Day

Doherty appeared at a MegaCon panel, alongside McGowan and Combs, on a different day than Milano and talked about the ongoing controversy.

She read a prepared statement where she said that, given her health diagnosis, it was incredibly important to her that the truth be told, rather than the narrative others had created for her.

She stood by the account she and Combs had shared on her podcast, asserting, “We told it together, we told our truth, and we are standing by our truths.”

Doherty’s emotional statement highlighted the deep impact these past events have had on her life. She spoke of the trauma of losing her livelihood and the effects on her family, attributing it to someone else’s desire to be “number one on the call sheet.”

The actress also mentioned the fans directly, expressing the cast’s love and commitment to protect them. They had been covering this situation for “as long as” they could.

This comment suggested that Doherty, Combs, and others had long withheld their side of the story out of consideration for the show’s fanbase. Finally, Doherty shared a quote from comedian Katt Williams: