Holly Marie Combs Confirms ‘Charmed’ Fan Theory About Alyssa Milano and Shannen Doherty

Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, 'Charmed'

Holly Marie Combs ended any speculation regarding why Shannen Doherty left the cast of Charmed following the feud between her and co-star Alyssa Milano.

While appearing on the Monday, Dec. 18, episode of Doherty's podcast Let's Be Clear, Combs, 50, confirmed the long-standing fan theory that Doherty didn't just walk away from The WB series, but rather, was fired over the on-set drama with Milano.

While conversing with her former co-star, now 52, Combs recalled a meeting she had in the early 2000s with one of the show's producers, Jonathan Levin. "He said, ‘We didn’t mean to — but we’ve been backed into this corner — we’re basically in this position where it’s one or the other.'"

"'We were told [by Alyssa] it’s her or [Shannen]," Combs continued, "'and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment.'"

Despite Combs admitting that she never witnessed any "harsh words" or public "brawls" between the two actresses, noting that the alleged mistreatment happened behind the scenes and without producers knowledge, she explained that Milano, 51, "documented every time she felt uncomfortable on set," and presumably, went to producers with the case.

At the time, the Pretty Little Liars alum defended Doherty and told Levin, "This is not a show I wanted to do without Shannen. She didn’t want to do it without me. Therefore, I don’t want to do it without her and that should be fairly clear."

Combs also accused Levin of threatening to sue her if she quit following Doherty's termination, recalling being told that her ultimatum "felt like blackmail."

Unfortunately, for fans of the award-winning fantasy drama series–which ran for eight seasons from 1998 until 2006–Combs' words didn't mean much to producers who famously let Doherty go, killing off her character Prue Halliwell in the 2001 season 3 finale and letting the world believe she up and quit before writing in her replacement–the trio's long-lost half-sister Paige Matthews, portrayed by Rose McGowan.

“I lived a year after that sort of replaying everything in my brain and really trying to find those moments [of alleged bad behavior on set] — and I couldn’t find them," Doherty added. Later, she shared that she wished she had handled the situation differently.

"I definitely would’ve sued and I would’ve been honest about the situation because the rumors followed me regardless," Doherty said.

Elsewhere in the discussion, Combs addressed co-star Brian Krause's reaction to Doherty's firing, telling the Heathers actress that Krause–who was dating Milano at the time–apologized two decades later.

"He just recently—it was about a year ago—in France, we were on stage at a panel that was filled with many, many people, and he just kind of paused," Combs recalled. "He looked at me like he forgot something, and I kind of looked at him like, 'What? What's the problem? Why are you looking at me like that?'"

"And he just looked at me while someone was asking a question and just went, 'I'm so sorry,'" Combs continued, "And I was like, 'Sorry for what?' I was like, 'Are you going somewhere? What's happening?' He just shook his head, and he goes, 'I'm so sorry.' Because we had talked a little about it on stage without talking about it. Because still no one was allowed to talk about it."

Years later, it appears the real Book of Shadows has finally been unveiled.

Parade has reached out to Milano for comment.

Next: Fans React to Alyssa Milano’s ‘Magical Reunion’ With Major ‘Charmed’ Cast Member