Sherri Shepherd On Wendy Williams: ‘We’re Not Friends’

Sherri Shepherd admitted that she’s not friends with Wendy Williams while building up excitement for her upcoming talk show, “Sherri.”

The 54-year-old TV personality was interviewed by Deadline at the African-American Film Critics Association Awards in Hollywood on Wednesday night. While discussing her dream list for her talk show, Shepherd disclosed that she does not know Williams, 57, personally.

“Wendy knows me because I’ve sat in as a guest and I guest hosted for her two years ago. So it’s not like she doesn’t know me, but we’re not friends,” she told the outlet.

Justifying the lack of a friendly relationship between them, Shepherd said that it’s not like everyone thinks about people in Hollywood having “each other’s phone numbers.” She also shared that she hasn’t spoken with Wendy after the announcement that she would be replacing her come fall 2022.

Nevertheless, Shepherd made it clear that she’s thankful to the “Wendy Williams Show” host for the opportunity given to her.

“I’m so thankful to Wendy for letting me fill in for her and letting me fill the gap to support her as all the other co-hosts have also done. I’m thankful because if it wasn’t for Wendy, the eyes wouldn’t have been on me. I’m so thankful to her. We’re all praying for her,” she said.

As for the lineup of stars she wanted to interview during her show’s debut week, Shepherd named Oprah Winfrey, Idris Elba, Regé-Jean Page, Method Man, and former first couple Barack and Michelle Obama.

Last week, Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury, the producer-distributor of Williams’ longtime talk show, announced that her run as host would end once the current 13th season is over. The talk show would be reformatted when it returns in the fall season, with Shepherd officially taking over the time slot.

After the announcement, Williams’ spokesperson Howard Bragman said she fully understood the decision since she could not return to her iconic purple chair due to health issues. Bragman noted that Williams was “incredibly grateful” to Debmar-Mercury and everyone who supported her show.

However, an insider told the New York Post over the weekend that Wendy was actually “pissed” when she heard the cancellation news. The tipster added that she struggled to come to terms with it because the “talk show was pretty much all she had.”