Sherri Shepherd pauses talk show after testing positive for COVID-19
"Sherri" host Sherri Shepherd, who said she was "heartbroken" after testing positive, said in a statement: "As soon as I get the all-clear from my doctor, I look forward to coming back strong to deliver the fun, laughter and a real good time." Credit: Sherri / Debmar-Mercury
Sherri Shepherd has put season 2 of her daytime talk show on hold Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19.
“The show will return with original episodes as soon as possible,” the producers said on the show’s social media and in a news release. “For the remainder of this week, encore episodes … will air. The health of our host and entire staff is of the utmost importance.”
In a statement, comedian Shepherd, 56, said, “I am absolutely heartbroken that I cannot return to host my show this week. As soon as I get the all-clear from my doctor, I look forward to coming back strong to deliver the fun, laughter and a real good time.”
Monday’s season premiere did not include the previously announced entertainer and game-show host Wayne Brady, with comedian Michelle Buteau and a National Wildlife Federation naturalist appearing instead. The originally scheduled Wednesday through Friday shows were to have featured, respectively, Julie Chen Moonves and Tyler Cameron; Leslie Jones; and Katherine Heigl and Lorene Harmon.
On Monday’s episode, Shepherd had stated that “Sherri” is not a signatory to the Writers Guild of America contract, saying, “We have never employed WGA writers, so us coming back to work is not crossing the picket line.”
The New York-produced show airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on WNYW/5 and 3 p.m. on WWOR/9.
