Ian Ziering Responds to Criticism for Not Posting Shannen Doherty Tribute After Her Death

Sunday marked one year since Doherty died from cancer at the age of 53, with Ziering — who starred as Steve Sanders opposite Shannen’s Brenda Walsh on the primetime soap — taking to social media to pay tribute.

His moving post came after he was criticized for not making any statement online in the immediate aftermath of her death, something he referenced in his new tribute.

“When I first heard she was sick, we had nearly a decade more with her. And even then, most of the updates sounded less like ‘Shannen’s fighting cancer’ and more like ‘cancer picked the wrong woman,’ That was her way—strong, defiant, take-no-prisoners tough,” Ziering said of Doherty, who was first diagnosed with cancer back in 2015, said she was in remission in 2017 and announced it had returned in 2020.

“Every time I saw her during those years, she was still Shan — fierce, funny, full of life. That’s why her passing hit me like a freight train. I was shocked. I truly believed she was going to pull off one more miracle,” he continued, before addressing the backlash he received after her death.

“When she died a year ago, I didn’t post anything. And yes, some people criticized that,” he shared. “To them I say: grief isn’t a performance. It’s personal. Let people grieve how they grieve.”

“Over the past year, I’ve seen my old castmates a few times. It’s been hard being together without her—and Luke,” he continued, referencing Luke Perry, who died in 2019. “That kind of loss doesn’t fade. It just rearranges the furniture in your heart.”

He went on to say he misses Doherty, before admitting the pair “clashed now and then” when 90210 first began. That being said, he added the pair “always had respect” for one another.

“I was the wisecracking comic relief; she was the beautiful chaos, the after-hours headline, the girl who could trash a hotel room and make the tabloids love her for it. (Stop laughing, Shan. You know it’s true),” he continued. “Whatever antics happened off-set, when the camera rolled? She delivered. Always.”

He said the two “mellowed” out as they got older and started to understand “what we’d been part of and what we each brought to the table.”

“I’ll never forget when she and Jennie surprised me at the Chippendales show in Vegas. God, we laughed so hard. It was one of those nights that stays with you,” he concluded. “So, my dear Shannen— I think of you often. Your grit. Your fire. Your kind heart that so few really got to see. I still carry all of it with me. Rest easy, Shan. ❤️”

The post has nearly 50K likes, hours after posting — while fellow former 90210 costar Tori Spelling also commented, calling the tribute “Beautiful ❤️”

Spelling wrote an emotional tribute of her own, sharing how she’s put the lessons she learned from Doherty into action.

“You always told me to stop apologizing for myself. To stop playing small. To stop trying to be palatable when I was born to be powerful,” she wrote.

“You taught me to turn my power on and let it shine. Some people will sit in the uncomfortableness of the brightness while others will be empowered by my flame.”

“This year, I’ve tried hard to be the power you believed I could be,” she continued. “I’m not afraid to say while I made progress in many ways I failed in others. But failure is a lesson not a sentence on our journey.”

“I’ve honored you by telling the truth louder. By choosing softness when I could’ve chosen armor. And by saying “no” more than I ever used to—because you would’ve,” she continued, before concluding, “And I promise— the torch you passed is lit. And it’s not going out. warrior friend. I love you forever Shan xo 🖤”