Kelly Osbourne’s vile comment about Latinos on a recent episode of “The View” has reportedly caused Rosie Perez to quit the show.
Perez was absent from the show on Wednesday and Thursday, which were supposed to be her last two live appearances, and she also missed several pre-taped episodes after she and ABC executives argued over Osbourne’s racist comment. Now, she has quit the show entirely, according to a Daily Mail source.
During a segment where the panel was discussing Donald Trump’s statements on Latino immigrants, Osbourne said “If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilet, Donald Trump?”
The daughter of rocker Ozzy Osbourne attempted to explain herself after she realized she had made a blunder, but Perez, who is Puerto Rican, cut her off and told her, “Latinos are not the only people who do that.”
During the commercial break, Osbourne, 30, broke down in tears and said, “Everyone is going to think I’m a racist!” Perez stormed backstage, according to the insider.
Reportedly, Perez was told by the network execs that she needed to apologize to Osbourne, and in the last segment of the show, she said to the audience, “I want to apologize to this young woman once again for being very sensitive.”
The source said that after the show, the ABC heads met with Perez in her dressing room and demanded she tweet an apology to Osbourne. She apparently said, “I’ve already done more than enough by apologizing on air.” A loud argument then erupted, with the 50-year-old actress screaming at the top of her lungs.
She reportedly said she was “done with this f—— show,” told the execs to “kiss her a–,” and declared to never return to “this s—hole of a place!” She sent the tweet and stormed out of the building.
“My apologies @KellyOsbourne, I took your point wrong #Trump #Latinos. My bad. Your heart is so pure and righteous. I adore you. @TheView,” her tweet read.
She received tons of backlash on Twitter, with critics questioning why she felt the need to apologize. Perez then released another tweet explaining herself: “I tweeted at #KellyOsbourne in an effort to help keep her from spiraling after her unfortunate comment. I went overboard with my apology- #mybad. But I don’t apologize for speaking up and calling her on it — mistake or not, it was offensive. And please don’t ever question my support for mi gente … Ever.”
Although “The View” had decided not to renew Perez’s contract, the source said she had “nothing to lose” walking away from the program early.
“She may have missed a few days pay, but to walk away with her dignity is likely far more important for Rosie in this situation,” the insider said.
ABC has since removed the episode in which Osbourne guest hosted from their website and Hulu.
