Sherri Shepherd Contracts COVID, Prompting Brief Hiatus for Talk Show

Rebecca Iannucci
·2 min read
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Sherri Shepherd‘s daytime talk show has encountered a roadblock just three days into its new season, after Shepherd tested positive for COVID on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, Sherri has tested positive for COVID. The show will return with original episodes as soon as possible,” reads a statement posted to Sherri‘s official Instagram account. “For the remainder of this week, encore episodes from the beginning of the premiere week will air. The health of our host and entire staff is of the utmost importance.”

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“I am absolutely heartbroken that I cannot return to host my show this week,” Shepherd added in a statement of her own. “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.”

The syndicated Sherri returned for its second season on Monday, one of the few daytime talk shows to do so amid the ongoing writers’ strike.

“There has been so much confusion about who can work and who can’t work,” Shepherd explained during Monday’s season premiere. “Well, I’m a SAG-AFTRA actress and I actually marched with some of my colleagues while in Los Angeles recently… But here’s the thing: Talk shows in general fall under a different union contract code, so we’re allowed to come back unless you’re a WGA show. The Sherri show is not a WGA show, and we have never employed WGA writers, so us coming back to work isn’t crossing the picket line.”

Meanwhile, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Talk and The Jennifer Hudson Show have all postponed their returns following significant backlash.

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