Shannen Doherty Admits Fault In Beverly Hills, 90210 Firing While Speaking with Costar Jason Priestley

While appearing together on Doherty’s podcast Let’s Be Clear With Shannen Doherty, the pair first recalled their first audition together at FOX studios, where they were the final contenders to play twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh.

And the competition was fierce.

Eventually, Doherty shifted the conversation toward the challenges she was dealing with behind the scenes, which ultimately bled into her work ethic on set and led to her firing from the show.

The 52-year-old actress claimed her marriage to Ashley Hamilton was falling apart at the time, claiming he had a drug addiction — which he’s been open about — that took a toll on her ability to be professional and punctual at work.

“I was in a really horrible marriage and there were things that were transpiring in that marriage that made it very hard for me to  consistently be on time for work. And I know that that became a very big problem for the rest of you, as it should be,” she said, before adding that it meant her fellow castmates had to work longer days in order to wait for her.

Eventually, constant interruptions at work forced the show to write her off. When fans tuned in to season 5 in 1994, they found out Doherty’s character Brenda was going to England to attend acting school.

“It wasn’t anybody’s responsibility by mine but I sort of wish I would have been sat down and sort of looked at and said, ‘Listen, the end result is going to be this, you are going to get fired and none of us are willing to put up with it anymore,'” Doherty told Priestley. “And I understand that you have an issue in your personal life, but that also can’t bleed into work and you need to get your s–t together!”

Doherty said that she wasn’t as transparent as she should have been about her personal life.

“I don’t think anybody knew that my father was super sick and I don’t think anybody knew that my husband was a massive drug addict … and it was all consuming for me. I didn’t even want to leave the house because I was scared that he would go and get drugs,” she explained.

Priestley then opened up about about the difficulty he experienced while waiting for his co-star to show up to set and the subsequent conversations he allegedly had with producers Aaron Spelling and Paul Wagner — but said he wished he knew more about Doherty’s personal struggles at the time.

“I could have hopefully managed it with more compassion and we only knew what we knew. Of course the hardest thing for me was the show was about Brandon and Brenda, it’s about the Walsh family and how is that going to impact the show and how would we find a path to move forward with the show,” he shared.

“So, it was incredibly hard for me and there was so many unknowns and I wish all of us had more knowledge about what was happening in your life so we could have dealt with your situation in a more compassionate way,” he told her.

It’s clear Priestley felt guilty about his role in the situation however, Doherty quickly took ownership of her behavior and career decisions.

“Listen, I really take the blame for that. I don’t blame anyone else for what transpired and my ultimate firing. I do blame myself because I should have had my personal life more together, I should have left a relationship earlier, I shouldn’t have been going out,” she told him.

“I got definitely affected by the attention and all of a sudden I could go into a night club and it didn’t matter how old I was, I found it all very alluring and seductive,” she admitted. “And I fell into that trap then you add the personal issues.”

90210 ran from 1990-2000 and revolved around a group of friends living in Beverly Hills as they transitioned from high school to college and into the adult world. It was created by Darren Star and also starred Luke Perry, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling and more.