*Sherri Shepherd is “so thankful” for Wendy Williams after announcing her new talk show will takeover Williams’ timeslot as “The Wendy Williams Show” has been given the ax.
“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,” Shepherd told Deadline.
She added: “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.”
Williams has not hosted her eponymous talk show since last summer when she went on a health-related hiatus. The show has since used a lew of celebrity guest hosts, including Sherri.
READ MORE: Wendy Williams Reacts to Sherri Shepherd Replacing Her – WATCH Sherri Breakdown Crying
Williams is reportedly battling Graves’ disease complications, and recovering from a breakthrough case of COVID-19. She also voluntarily checked herself into Beth Israel hospital for psychiatric care late last year.
“Wendy won’t be returning to the show for the rest of this season. Her healing is going slower than everyone had hoped. She continues to deal with a number of medical issues, including Graves’ disease, and she and her team are taking it one day at a time,” a source tells People.
“But reports of a stroke, drugs or addiction issues or a dementia diagnosis are all false. Whether Wendy can return in the fall will depend on how her healing goes over the summer. Her health is the most important thing,” the source adds.
Shepherd, 54, first hosted in November 2021 and the ratings soared to the highest it’s been all season. She has guest-hosted multiple times since.
The decision to end “The Wendy Williams Show” was made in February, with Shepherd’s own daytime series titled “Sherri” taking its place beginning in September.
Shepherd hasn’t spoken to Williams since the news of her new show.
View this post on Instagram
“It’s not like everybody thinks that in Hollywood, we all have each other’s phone numbers,” she said. “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. I am glad that she trusted me when they asked if I could come in and trusted that I could do it.”
Last month, Williams’ rep, Howard Bragman, issued a statement on the decision to end “The Wendy Williams Show.”
“She, more than anyone, understands the reality of syndicated television — you can’t go to the marketplace and sell a show that’s the ‘Maybe Wendy Show,’ ” he said. “She understands why this decision was made from a business point of view, and she has been assured by Debmar-Mercury that should her health get to a point where she can host again and should her desire be that she hosts again that she would be back on TV at that time.”
A new slate of guest hosts will fill in for the month of March.
“The Wendy Williams Show” airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on Fox.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
