James Hibberd

'It Happens Every Time'

July 11, 2006 7:36 PM

“You have an image built up over the years,” a critic began.“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Shannen Doherty said. As often happens with Ms. Doherty, this comes off as part-joke, part warning. Ms. Doherty was on stage to talk about “Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty,” a new Oxygen series where the former “90210” star helps couples end their relationship.

The show looks a bit cruel and critics can’t help but wonder if Doherty is still, well, you know, a bitch. And whether she is now trying to repair her image.

“I’m not trying to alter anything,” she said. “I’ve answered this question so many times. Did I participate in that in the beginning? Yes. Did I play into that? Yes. I was 18 years old. I didn’t realize what it was going to cause, what it was going to do.” Ms. Doherty teared up.

“Do I regret what I did when I was younger? Fifty percent of it I regret, 50 percent of it I don’t -- because it made me who I am today,” she said “I’ve tried to change [the opinions] of all of you in this room. I’ve tried desperately to be given a second chance by the media … I put up an image that was created by people I worked for and I went with it. It really hurts to read a lot of stuff that I read about myself.”

After, walking out of the ballroom, surrounded by her entourage, she told her friends: “I just knew where it was going to go right away. It happens every time.”