'I don’t want them': Shannen Doherty reveals exclusion list for her funeral guests
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Shannen Doherty has openly discussed her specific preferences for her funeral. The actress, currently battling cancer, revealed on her 'Let’s Be Clear' podcast on Sunday, January 14, that there are "a lot of people” she would rather not have in attendance at her funeral.
“There’s a lot of people that I think would show up that I don’t want there,” she told her guest, Chris Cortazzo, who’s her best friend and the executor of her will, according to Page Six.
Why Doherty does not want a 'lot of people' to attend her funeral?
“I don’t want them there because their reasons for showing up aren’t necessarily the best reasons,” she explained.
“Like, they don’t really like me — and they have their reasons, and good for them — but they don’t actually really like me enough to show up to my funeral," she added.
She further said, “But they will, because it’s the politically correct thing to do, and they don’t want to look bad.”
The 52-year-old expressed her desire for this revelation to alleviate any pressure on others, emphasizing that she envisions her end-of-life celebration as a "love fest."
She added, “I don’t want people to be crying or privately thinking, ‘Thank God that person is gone now.'”
Doherty on who she wants to attend her funeral
When Cortazzo requested a list of individuals to be invited, Doherty refrained from providing specific names. Instead, she remarked, "That’s the shorter — that’s the better list. I can’t give you a list of who I don’t want because that’s way too long.”
She further expressed her strong feelings against insincerity, stating that she “abhor[s] fakeness” and "can’t stand" individuals who falsely claim to have "found Jesus" and pretend to be “so sorry” for “anything bad that they said about you.”
“I’m like, ‘No, no, no. I know you’re still the exact same petty human being. Don’t. Just stay away from me. We’re good,'” she insisted.
When was Doherty diagnosed with cancer?
The 'Beverly Hills, 90210' star was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.
Though she went into remission in 2017 following chemotherapy, the cancer returned to stage 4 in 2019. Last year, the actress revealed that her cancer had metastasized, first spreading to her brain and then her bones.
Doherty then disclosed that she discovered her husband of over a decade, Kurt Iswarienko, was allegedly having an affair just before she underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. Despite her claim, he denied any infidelity.
Doherty and Iswarienko went their separate ways in January 2023, the same month as her surgery. However, the actress didn't initiate divorce proceedings with the photographer until April of that year.
