Dark history of Charmed cast – raised in a cult, feuds and run-ins with the law

Charmed certainly gave fans all the feels, with its mix of high drama, sibling ups and downs and dazzling witchery.

Starring late actress Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs as the Halliwell sisters – good witches working to protect the innocent from evil – it started in 1998 and aired until 2006. It was a massive hit, retaining its cult classic status even now.

Its stars, including later cast addition Rose McGowan, were industry darlings as the show’s popularity soared. But off screen life wasn’t necessarily charmed for the show’s stars all of the time.

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We have a look at some of the cast members’ darker times.

Backstage feuds

Charmed was plagued by reports of feuds among cast members over the years. Shannen, who played Prue, and Holly, who starred as Piper, were close friends before they were cast but there were whispers about Shannen clashing with Alyssa, who played Phoebe.

The war of words emanating from the behind the scenes was long and complicated, but one thing that’s definite is that Shannen exited after three series. There were claims that the work environment was toxic and at one point Shannen, speaking at a convention, accused Alyssa of getting her fired to become “number one on the call sheet”. However, Alyssa denied it, writing on Instagram: “I did not have the power to get anyone fired.”

Shannen also told Entertainment Tonight after leaving the show: “There was too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work. I’m 30 years old and I don’t have time for drama in my life anymore.”

Whatever went on, any bad blood seemed to be behind them of late. And Alyssa was one of the many stars to pay tribute after Shannen passed away this weekend aged 53 following her long battle with cancer. “It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” she said in a statement.

Growing up in a cult

Rose, who played the Halliwell sisters’ long lost sibling Paige Matthews in the series, grew up in a cult called Children of God. The screen beauty has discussed it openly in the past, telling People magazine in 2018 that she spent her early years living in the cult in Italy.

However, as she grew up she knew that the lifestyle wasn’t going to be for her, explaining that she didn’t want that life for herself. “I did not want to be like those women,” she told the mag. The star claimed: “There were basically there to serve the men sexually.”

Rose did go on to leave the cult with her siblings and her dad, who the actress said was “strong enough to realise that this hippie love had gone south”. They moved to the US to start over, which is where the star forged the Hollywood career she has today.

Run-ins with the law

Shannen had a brush with the law back in 2000, when she was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence. The TV star was pulled over in Thousand Oaks, California when patrol officers apparently noticed her pickup truck weaving as she drove along.

She later pleaded no contest to drunk driving, with her lawyer Trent Copeland quoted in news reports as saying at the time: “Shannen, taking responsibility for her actions, decided she didn’t want to go forward with this. It didn’t make sense for her professionally to fight this.”

Harvey Weinstein

In 2017, Rose was among the women who came forward with allegations about now disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. She was one of the first people to speak up at the start of what became the #MeToo movement.

She accused Weinstein of raping her in 1997, when she was 23. She later expanded on the alleged encounter in her book, Brave. Rose claimed that Weinstein – who denied any allegations of non-consensual sex as the scandal unfolded – assaulted her in a hotel when they were at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2020 Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years after being convicted of sexually assaulting a former production assistant in 2006 and raping a former aspiring actress in 2013.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk