Elaine Welteroth says she won't 'be vilified' for consoling Sharon Osbourne in leaked audio

Elaine Welteroth is clearing the air about her response to Sharon Osbourne following a controversial exchange on "The Talk."

In a statement to Entertainment Tonight Thursday, Welteroth stood by comments she made in a leaked audio obtained by the Daily Mail. Welteroth can be heard in the clip, which she claimed was "unlawfully recorded," apologizing to a crying Osbourne and reassuring Osbourne that she isn't "a racist."

"I thought we had closed the painful, public chapter of the controversy related to the March 10th show. Today, however, I learned that my private comments made moments after the incident from a place of compassion to a then-colleague (the most senior level co-host on The Talk) were recorded – without my consent or knowledge – and shared with the media," the statement read.

During an episode of "The Talk," Osbourne and co-host Sheryl Underwood got into an on-air confrontation about racism after Osbourne defended Piers Morgan for his controversial comments about Duchess Meghan.

USA TODAY reached out to Welteroth's reps for comment.

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Welteroth clarified that "it is not news that I did not call Sharon a racist and it is certainly not news that the way the show unfolded caught us all by surprise."

"None of us wanted that day to go how it did and I do not regret sharing these feelings in a private conversation with a colleague. I welcome fair, constructive dialogue and I am no stranger to tough conversations about race. But I will not be vilified for telling the truth, on or off-air."

She also said the audio was "not a hot mic" situation.

"I am disheartened, however, that my kindness has been taken out of context and weaponized in an attempt to absolve responsibility for someone else’s actions."

To conclude, she said she was honored to join "The Talk" in December to "add my voice to important and lively conversations," and looks forward to working with her new co-host Jerry O'Connell.

"I am grateful for the new perspectives he will bring to the show," the statement concluded.

'It's real exciting': 'The Talk' names Jerry O'Connell its first male co-host, replacing Sharon Osbourne

Osbourne left the talk show in March after “The Talk” went on hiatus to investigate her controversial exchange with Underwood. The CBS daytime show on Wednesday introduced Connell as its new permanent co-host, alongside Welteroth, Amanda Kloots and Underwood.

"It's real exciting," O'Connell said in the episode. "First of all, I want to say, you ladies have been so welcoming to me. I mean, I came here as a guest months ago, and just from the moment I walked in, you're just gracious, you're kind, you're fun, and it worked. And here we are. We're going to have a lot of fun, we really are."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Talk': Elaine Welteroth responds to audio with Sharon Osbourne