A tearful Aisha Tyler made a surprising announcement on Thursday’s episode of “The Talk”, telling viewers she’ll be exiting the daytime talk show at the end of the current season.
Tyler explained she is too busy withthree other TV series – “Criminal Minds”, “Whose Line is it Anyway?” and “Archer” – to continue as a co-host alongside Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, and Sheryl Underwood.
“People always go ‘How to you do all that?’, and I don’t always have an answer,” Tyler said on the show, also saying, “[‘The Talk’] is such a joy that it never feels like work to me.”
Tyler also directed her first feature film, “Axis”, which has played at a number of festivals, and which she said was “something I’ve always dreamed of doing.”
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“I knew that was what I wanted to do the rest of my life, what I wanted to put my energy into,” Tyler said of her directing career, “and I started to think about it and could not see how that would work.”
Tyler also expressed the importance of being a female director in a male-dominated field, and referring to “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins and “Selma” director Ava DuVernay as successful inspirations.
Balancing a directing career, which demands so much of her time, while co-hosting a daily talk show simply wouldn’t be possible: “I just realized I had to let something go,” Tyler said, while beginning to cry.
Tyler received emotional support from her fellow co-hosts following her shocking proclamation and said it was the “hardest decision” of her life.
And CBS released the following statement on Tyler’s departure from “The Talk”: “Saying goodbye to Aisha is a bittersweet moment for all of us at CBS Daytime and THE TALK,” said Angelica McDaniel, Executive Vice President, Daytime Programs and Syndicated Program Development, CBS Entertainment and CBS Television Distribution. “Throughout her six seasons, she has made incredible contributions and shared personal moments, making our viewers, cast and crew all laugh, cry and think, as a result of her signature wit, intelligence and openness. It’s no secret Aisha is one of the busiest women in entertainment, and we support her as she decides to focus more time on her passion for directing, her expanded role on CBS’ CRIMINAL MINDS, hosting The CW’s WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY?, and her other endeavors… and maybe finally find some time to sleep! We love Aisha and she will always be a part of our family, with a seat waiting for her at THE TALK anytime she wants to visit.”
The longtime “The Talk” co-host has been with the daytime talk show since its second season and will remain on air until the current season seven wraps on Friday, Aug. 4.
She did say she plans on coming back as an occasional guest host and to promote her future projects.
