Shannen Doherty praised the actress’s work in the popular series. The star assured that Alyssa Milano made the project better.
Despite the long-standing feud, shortly before her death, Shannen Doherty praised Alyssa Milano’s work in Charmed. 51-year-old Milano played Phoebe Halliwell in the series, but the role did not immediately go to her. Laurie Rome directed the unaired pilot as Phoebe, along with stars Doherty and Holly-Marie Combs as the other sisters.
Shannen stated that Milano was different from other actresses in her manner. “Lori and Alyssa are very, very, very different people. So Lori’s performance was different from Alyssa’s. Laurie was a lot like Holly and me in the sense that she was very good at drama. The presentation was much more serious and darker, which was my style. I loved the presentation and I thought everyone was great,” Doherty explained.
On the Halliwell House podcast released on July 16, Shannen praised Alyssa. The star felt that her once rival brought more brightness.
“When Alyssa showed up, it brought the levity that I think the show ultimately needed. She came in and did a great job. And yeah, it just gave the show a little different flavor,” Shannen said.
This podcast episode was recorded before Doherty’s death. Her co-hosts, Combs, Brian Krause and Drew Fuller announced that they would air the first five episodes in honor of the actress. Doherty’s positive words about Milano came as a surprise as the two had a long feud.
Combs, 50, said Milano got the late actress fired at the end of the third season during an episode of Doherty’s Let’s Be Clear podcast in January. “We were told by Alyssa that it was either her or Shannen, and Alyssa threatened to sue us for a hostile work environment,” Holly-Marie recalled when producer Jonathan Levine told her about Doherty’s firing.
After this, Milano got in touch on social networks and said that she did not have the authority to fire anyone. According to her, the actresses had a professional mediator. “After Shannen left, we had five more successful seasons, and I am eternally grateful to her,” Alyssa assured.
Doherty also alleged that Milano and her mother Lyn prevented her from visiting Combs in the hospital after she had a tumor removed from her uterus. Milano’s mother denied the allegations.
Shannen died on July 13 after an almost 10-year battle with cancer. The actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, but after a period of remission, the disease returned in 2019. In 2023, Doherty reported that the disease had spread to her bones and eventually to her brain. Publicist Leslie Sloan confirmed the actress’s death at the age of 53.
