Sherri Shepherd, the soon-to-be-departed co-host of The View, has decided to waive parental rights to, and accompanying responsibilities for, her unborn child, TMZ reports.
According to the gossip site, Shepherd claims her estranged husband, Lamar Sally, convinced her to have another child so that he could extort financial support from her after he filed for divorce.
The couple turned to a surrogate when they could not conceive naturally, but the baby was conceived using only Sally’s sperm, not Shepherd’s egg, reports TMZ.
There’s conjecture that Shepherd’s decision to relinquish parental responsibility is a tactic to avoid having to pay Sally substantial child support payments, according to TMZ. She wants a judge to rule in her favor so she will be absolved of any financial obligations to the unborn child and her estranged husband.
To further complicate matters, Shepherd and Sally have filed for divorce in two different states—New Jersey and California, respectively. According to TMZ, courts in New Jersey generally do not legally recognize surrogacy agreements; however, that’s not the case in California.
The baby is due sometime this month.
Read more at TMZ.