Rose McGowan ‘regrets’ not getting to know Shannen Doherty ‘sooner’ after being ‘pitted against each other’ over Charmed
Rose McGowan has reflected on her friendship with the late Shannen Doherty and expressed her regret that their bond didn’t start sooner.
The actress, 50, spoke candidly about their relationship on Friday’s episode of the Let’s be clear with Shannen Doherty podcast.
The program, which is still produced by Shannen’s mother and friends, continues after Shannen’s death on July 13 at age 53 from cancer.
“If I have any regrets, it’s that I wish I had met her sooner,” McGowan began. “I don’t know how it would have happened, but I wish I could have.”
She went on to call Shannen, who has been courageously battling breast cancer since 2015, “the bravest, most courageous champion” she knows.
Rose McGowan reflected on her friendship with the late Shannen Doherty and expressed her regret that their bond didn’t start sooner; (2019 photo)
“If I have any regrets, it’s that I wish I had met her sooner,” McGowan began. “I don’t know how it would have happened, but I wish we could have”; (Shannen and Rose circa 2008)
“We were really pitted against each other,” continued the star, who joined Charmed after Shannen’s dramatic exit from the CW series in 2001. “They told me she was fired and no one talked about her.”
Shannen, Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano played the Halliwell witches in the first three seasons of Charmed.
Doherty left before the fourth season due to alleged tensions with Milano (Milano, however, denies any responsibility for her departure), leading to the introduction of McGowan as their younger half-sister.
McGowan has always chosen not to criticize her predecessor.
“I refused to take the bait. They wanted me to start a war with her, and I said something like, ‘Absolutely not. I’m not going to start a war with her,'” she added Friday.
‘And let’s be honest, she absolutely didn’t do that.’
McGowan was grateful for the opportunity to build a close bond with Doherty in her last year and a half, calling it a “wonderful gift.”
“The biggest misconception about her was that she was tough. But at the same time, it was the truth, but it’s not who she was naturally. And I would say that was the biggest misconception about me as well.
She went on to call Shannen, who has bravely fought breast cancer since 2015, “the bravest, most courageous champion” she knows. (Rose, Shannen and Holly Marie Combs speak during a Q&A at MegaCon Orlando 2024)
“We were really pitted against each other,” continued the star, who joined Charmed following Shannen’s dramatic departure from the CW series in 2001. “All I was told was that she was fired and no one talked about her.”
Doherty left before Season 4 due to reported tensions with Milano (though Milano denies any responsibility for her departure), leading to McGowan’s introduction as their younger half-sister
‘We both like to laugh. Softly, underneath.’
In 2015, Doherty announced she had been diagnosed with cancer. After two years of chemotherapy, she achieved remission.
However, in 2020, the disease resurfaced, now in stage IV breast cancer.
In November 2023, the Beverly Hills, 90210 star confirmed that the cancer had spread to her bones. In July 2024, Shannen passed away.
Rose then expressed her deep sorrow when she joined other celebrities in paying tribute to Shannen.
“I can’t stop crying,” she responded via Instagram‘A world without Shannen Doherty is unthinkable.’
“Shannen Doherty had the heart of a lion,” the Scream star captioned a heartbreaking photo album. “Passion for the craft is often mislabeled as trouble. Shannen was passion.”
She continued: ‘I met her in the ’90s and was blown away. To really get to know her later in life was a wonderful gift.
The Beverly Hills 90210 icon opened up about her preparation for drug treatment during the June 24 episode of her Let’s Be Clear podcast
Rose’s tribute followed reports that Shannen said she was “devastated” at the thought of having to start chemotherapy again, just three weeks before she died on Saturday at the age of 53.
The star, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, opened up about her preparation for the drug treatment during the June 24 episode of her Let’s Be Clear podcast.
“I have to go back to chemo and it’s really hard,” the actress said at the time. “The idea of having to go through all that again has destroyed me.”
In the same podcast episode, she confessed that the past year had been “really hard” for her.
“I don’t think I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in many ways,” she said.
Last year, she announced in an Instagram post that the cancer had spread to her brain, and it showed her undergoing radiation therapy.
She announced a new episode of her podcast Let’s Be Clear by sharing a snippet on her official Instagram account.
Shannen said she was “devastated” at the thought of starting chemotherapy again, just three weeks before she died on Saturday at age 53; (Photo: February)
In October 1990, Doherty starred in the original Beverly Hills 90210, but left the series after its fourth season in 1994. She returned as a guest star on the show in 2008 after it was rebooted.
After the popular series, she starred in the witch drama Charmed. Doherty played Prue Halliwell, the eldest of the three witch sisters.
After directing several episodes of Charmed, Doherty left the series in 2001. She then moved on to work in reality television, appearing as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and on the show Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty.
She starred in the 2019 reboot of 90210, playing the adult version of Brenda Walsh.