Jason Priestley believes Shannen Doherty being more open about her personal struggles could have changed the outcome of her time on “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
During Thursday’s episode of Pete Ferriero’s “The Slice of Life Show” podcast, Priestley, who played Brandon Walsh on the iconic ’90s teen drama, reflected on Doherty’s “disruptive” on-set behavior that led to her departure.
“There was never an issue between her and I specifically,” he said. “I loved Shannen. I loved working with her. She was a great actress. She was a great scene partner. I only have fond memories of working with her on the show.”
Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh, twin sister of Priestley’s Brandon, exited the series at the end of its fourth season, with the show ultimately going on to run for 10 seasons.
When asked whether he thought letting her go was the “right move,” Priestley, 57, admitted, “That’s a tough question.”
“I feel like, given the information that we had, we made the only choice that we could,” he added. “Had Shannen been more forthcoming about what was happening with her in her life at that point in time, I think we could have made a different choice.”
The “Wild Cards” actor went to explain that Doherty’s departure was “scary” for him and the rest of the cast, describing her as “part of the secret sauce that made the show successful.”
“We were going to lose that. As much as we knew it was going to impact her life and her career, we knew it was going to impact our show as well,” he said. “The decision to let her go was not one that was taken lightly.”
Doherty, for her part, previously opened up about the circumstances surrounding her exit during a 2024 episode of her “Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty” podcast, with Priestley appearing as her guest.
During their conversation, she revealed that her marriage to then-husband Ashley Hamilton contributed to her unprofessional behavior on set and ultimately played a role in her firing.
“Toward my last season, I was in a really horrible marriage, and there were things that were transpiring in that marriage that made it really hard for me to consistently be on time for work,” Doherty recalled.
Although she said she wished someone had sat her down and warned her to “get your s–t together” before letting her go, she also acknowledged that she could have been more “transparent” about what was happening in her personal life.