Jennie Garth reflects on Shannen Doherty's private 'struggles' that 'no one knew about' before infamous “90210” firing

Ryan ColemanFri, April 17, 2026 at 3:40 AM UTC

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Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth on 'Beverly Hills, 90210' in 1991Credit: EverettKey Points -

Jennie Garth is reflecting on the private "struggles" Shannen Doherty endured amid her controversial 1994 firing from Beverly Hills, 90210.

Garth noted that Doherty "had a dad with heart problems, she "supported her family," and she had "a lot going on for her that no one knew about."

Doherty was fired amid allegations she was "difficult" to work with, the truth of which Garth said she only came to understand when they "became women and discussed it more openly."

Jennie Garth is looking back on her friend Shannen Doherty's tumultuous tenure on the Beverly Hills, 90210 set, and the private "struggles" that led to her controversial firing.

A complicated truth behind allegations dogged Doherty for years: that it was on-set unprofessionalism that led to her 1994 departure from the teen drama, Garth said on Monday's episode of the Armchair Expert podcast.

"I think there was some decisions just to be like, 'F--- you, I can do what I want,'" Garth said of her 90210 costar, who died in July 2024 at the age of 53. "I was watching from the sidelines going, 'Wow, she really can do whatever she wants. That's so cool."

Garth would soon learn that there was more to Doherty's behavior than mere youthful insubordination.

Garth said she related to Doherty not just as a fellow Aries ("We don't like to be told what to do or what we can and can't do"), but "being both incredibly independent women from such a very young age."

Doherty, in turned out, "also had a dad with heart problems, and she supported her family and took care of her family. They were her first priority at all times, and there was a lot going on for her that no one knew about," Garth explained. "There were all the struggles of trying to figure out how to have healthy relationships and be in her position."

To say that least, those stresses combined with the pressure of helping lead one of the biggest shows on television put Doherty in a position that Garth described as "not easy. Very difficult to navigate. And that confusion, I think, caused some defiance or anger naturally, trying to control some things."

The biggest allegation of "unprofessionalism" floating around Doherty before her firing was an apparent penchant for tardiness. Decades after the controversy, she freely admitted to it herself.

"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 be on time for work," she explained in Jan. 2024. "I know that that became a very big problem."

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Garth recalled this habit of Doherty's, and conceded that it could make life on set challenging.

"I think, yeah, when she was late, it was annoying for everyone. We were all there on time, ready when we were supposed to be ready, and the crew was waiting. That was hard to work with."

Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth in Los Angeles in 2012Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

But even then, Garth had empathy for Doherty, which only increased as they grew up together.

"I didn't know then a lot of what she was going through, until we became women and discussed it more openly. I heard her saying, 'People didn't really understand what I was going through at the time,' and I never really considered that at that young age. But I did have this sort of respect for her, like an unknown, non-understood respect for her," Garth explained.

Nearly a year after Doherty's death, and six years after the death of their costar, Luke Perry, Garth candidly shared her struggle to process her grief.

"It doesn't make sense. It still doesn't make sense to my brain. And I live in a world where they, where they still are a lot in my mind. So it’s very, very hard to understand that they're not here physically," she said.

You can listen to Garth's full interview on Armchair Expert above.

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