Jason Priestley says Shannen Doherty could have stayed on “Beverly Hills, 90210” if she had shared more about her personal struggles.
Priestley, 57, made the admission Thursday on Pete Ferriero’s “The Slice of Life Show” podcast while reflecting on Doherty’s exit after four seasons as Brenda Walsh, his character’s twin sister. The show continued for six more seasons without her, running until 2000.
“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.”
When Ferriero pressed him on whether firing her was the “right move,” Priestley hesitated. “That’s a tough question,” he replied. “I feel like, given the information that we had, we made the only choice that we could. 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 described her departure as “scary” for the remaining cast, calling Doherty “part of the secret sauce that made the show successful,” He added, “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. The decision to let her go was not one that was taken lightly.”
Doherty herself had already examined her firing on her own podcast, “Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty,” in 2024, with Priestley joining her as a guest. She traced her unprofessional behavior to her marriage to Ashley Hamilton, which she called “really horrible.”
“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,” she recalled.
She wished someone had given her a direct warning to “get your s–t together” before termination, though she conceded she could have been more “transparent” about her circumstances. Her father was seriously ill at the time, and Hamilton’s drug addiction had become what she described as “all-consuming.” She explained, “I didn’t even want to leave the house because I was scared that [Hamilton] would go and get drugs.”
Doherty died in July 2024 at 53 after years of stage 4 cancer. Priestley honored her on Instagram, writing, “Shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of my friend Shannen. She was a force of nature and I will miss her. Sending love and light to her family in this dark time.”
Priestley’s podcast reflections also touched on his own eventual exit. He revealed on Jennie Garth’s “9021OMG” podcast last month that he once pleaded with executive producer Aaron Spelling to end the series while it remained popular, citing a decline in quality during season eight. “There was lots of crazy stuff that happened in that eighth season,” he said. “It started to feel very daytime-y in a way.”
Spelling allegedly rejected the idea outright, telling him, “They’re going to pull me off this set in a body bag,” and insisting he was “never ending the show.” Priestley left at the start of season 9 instead.
Priestley continues to discuss “Beverly Hills, 90210” across multiple podcasts while promoting his current projects.
