In a recent Instagram Live interview with Fat Joe, Wendy Williams made her feelings on guest host Sherri Shepherd’s new show pretty clear. In case you missed it, she has no plans to check out Sherri, telling Joe, “I like her, but I won’t be watching her because I know what she’s going to be doing and that’s really not my thing,” she said.
According to ET Canada, Sherri responded to Wendy’s comments on her own Instagram Live saying, “I did hear Wendy say she will not watch me on the new show. And that’s okay. You know, I understand. I’m not mad at Wendy.”
The former The View host added, “I would say that everyone should be praying for Wendy right now. I’m really truly concerned for her because I don’t feel like there’s anybody over there protecting her … But I’m not mad at Wendy because she won’t watch my show.”
It’s worth noting that in the video Sherri seems to genuinely care about Wendy’s well-being, but we imagine she also really wants people to stop asking her about replacing the talk show host. Unfortunately for her, those questions and comments probably won’t stop anytime soon.
It’s obvious during the Fat Joe interview that Wendy really wants to get back on TV. She might be a little bitter that Sherri took her spot, but I’m not convinced this is all about her former guest host. This is probably more about the show’s producers abandoning her for someone else.
This story is very far from over, but it’s really important that as it continues, we absolutely do not pit these two women against one another. This is not a competition. Debmar-Mercury, the production company behind The Wendy Williams Show, needed to make a decision about its content, looked at ratings and money, and chose Sherri Shepherd. From her point of view, Sherri was offered a job that she likes doing, with an established crew and time slot in place. While Wendy took time off to heal herself and lost a show she’d been hosting for 14 seasons.
No matter how hard mainstream media wants to make this a catfight between two Black women, this is about a production company making business decisions, not Wendy vs. Sherri.