Stars Earn Stripes is a reality television program that aired for one season on NBC beginning August 13, 2012.
Produced by Mark Burnett, the series follows a group of celebrities, accompanied by current and former members of the United States Armed Forces and law enforcement, competing in various challenges for charity based on training exercises used by the U.S. military.
The series is hosted by retired NATO Supreme Allied Commander and former presidential candidate Wesley Clark and former Dancing with the Stars co-host Samantha Harris.
[1] Each celebrity was paired with a special operations or law enforcement professional who trained them in weapons and combat tactics.
Gen Clark also announced that the two stars that failed to complete the mission would compete in the elimination shootout (instead of the normal slowest squad).
On CBS's The Talk (where Sharon is also a panelist), Jack had revealed that two days before filming began, he was removed from the cast of Stars Earn Stripes after disclosing that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Sharon felt that NBC "badly handled" the situation, and that allowing him to participate could have proved inspirational for others diagnosed with the disease.
Producer David Hurwitz disputed these allegations in a press event, stating that the show was only in talks with Osbourne to participate, and that he was never officially part of the cast.
[3][4][5] In August, eight Nobel Peace Laureates (Desmond Tutu, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, Betty Williams, Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, and Shirin Ebadi) signed an open letter calling for NBC to cancel the program.
They wrote "It is our belief that this program pays homage to no one anywhere and continues and expands on an inglorious tradition of glorifying war and armed violence.
"[6] NBC has removed Stars Earn Stripes from its list of current shows, though no formal announcement of the programs status has been made.