Sharon Osbourne recently told The New York Post that she’s quitting “America’s Got Talent” because NBC discriminated against her son, Jack, in casting its new reality show, “Stars Earn Stripes” (premiering Aug. 13).
Jack Osbourne, 26, was diagnosed recently with multiple sclerosis.
The topic of Jack came up earlier this month at the Television Critics Association gathering in Beverly Hills. Here’s what one of the show’s producers, David Hurwitz, had to say:
QUESTION: For one of the producers, could you guys clear up once and for all what happened or allegedly happened with Jack Osbourne? Was he supposed to be on the show and, if so, how far did he get and what happened?
DAVID A. HURWITZ: Yeah. When you do any kind of these reality competition shows and you reach out to celebrities, there tends to be a certain makeup that you want for these celebrities. If they’re dancing, you want to make sure they’re fit enough to dance. If they’re coming on a show like this, you look at our panel, including Nick Lachey. They’re all very, very fit. Jack is a big enthusiast. He is somebody that had interest in doing the show. And unfortunately, because of the strains and the rigors of not only the show and but also our intense shooting schedule, it was best not to go with him at this time.
QUESTION: OK. So he wasn’t actually hired and fired. He just was never hired?
DAVID A. HURWITZ: No. He was somebody with these eight and a few others that we were in talks with, but he did not get penciled into the final lineup. Prior to us making our decision, it was found out that the rigors of the show were too intense for him.
