Sharon Osbourne Quits 'America's Got Talent' Over 'Discrimination'

Sharon claims NBC unjustly fired her son, Jack Osbourne: 'It's time to move on.'

Rumors of Sharon Osbourne's departure from America's Got Talent have been circulating for weeks, but now she tells the New York Post exactly why she's abandoning her seat at the judges' table: She believes her son, Jack Osbourne, was unfairly fired from NBC's Stars Earn Stripes because he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. 'I just can't be fake,' she tells the paper. 'It's discrimination, and it was badly handled.'

Sharon, 59, claims that Jack, 26, was fired by e-mail two days before he was supposed to start filming Stars Earn Stripes, a decision that came as a complete surprise to them both.

'It's time to move on,' Sharon admits, as she reveals plans to go against her current contract with NBC. 'They can't make me do something I don't want to do. ' All they can do it stop me from being a judge on another network for five years.'

Stars Earn Stripes producer David Hurwitz told reporters in July that Jack was never officially hired and that 'the rigors of the show were too intense for him.' An NBC rep insists Jack was notified by phone in June ' he formally revealed his condition that same month ' and was notified again via e-mail in July.

'Think of the good that it could have done to show other people who have this [condition] that your life is not over,' Sharon laments.

As for NBC, a rep tells the Post that 'Sharon has been a valuable part of the NBC family. We regret any misunderstanding and wish Jack well.'

Regardless of who's at fault ' and there are always two sides to every story ' HollywoodLife.com is going to miss Sharon on AGT next season. She's always been the heart of the show, and we can't imagine what it will be like without her.

' Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

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