Sherri Shepherd Says Rosie O’Donnell Helped Her Negotiate a Bigger Paycheck on The View

When it comes to women fighting for wage equality, Sherri Shepherd is paying forward what Rosie O’Donnell did for her.

The former The View host, 51, recently revealed during PEOPLE Chatter that she would’ve had a completely different salary without the guidance of the comedian, 56.

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“I tell people what I make, if you’re doing a talk show … because Rosie O’Donnell did it for me,” Shepherd said. “She told me what she made so I would know how to go in and negotiate. If Rosie O’Donnell had not told me what her salary was, I would’ve gotten something so low. I’m not gonna lie, I made a lot of money on The View.”

She continued, “So when people do talk shows and they come to me, I say, ‘This is what I made, this is what you need to ask for, this is what they will do,’ because otherwise you don’t know. … Nobody shares, and as women, we have to do that.”

Sherri Shepherd
Sherri Shepherd

Shepherd also discussed the news that Geoffrey Owens, a former actor on The Cosby Show, was working as a cashier at Trader Joe’s and the recent controversy around Nike’s decision to make former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick the face of its new campaign.

“I love the fact that he was making an honest job,” she said about Owens, “because let me tell you something, we all three paychecks away from being a cashier. … That could be us, so I’m so glad that he’s empowered … and that people came out in support of him. He was doing hard, honest work.”

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And last, Shepherd shared that she’ll be buying as much Nike gear as possible because she “[loves] the fact that Nike stepped out,” adding, “They could’ve ruined their relationship with the NFL, but they … said this is important. We didn’t let this story die … I’m going to do everything I can to support Nike so they can prove to the world this was the right decision.”

Sherri Shepherd and hosts of <em>The View</em>
Sherri Shepherd and hosts of The View

RELATED: Colin Kaepernick Revealed as the Face of Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ Campaign in the Wake of NFL Protests

On Monday, the Super Bowl quarterback, 30, revealed his face on a new ad for Nike’s 30th anniversary “Just Do It” campaign. “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” reads the ad that was shared on Instagram and Twitter.

Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt

A post shared by colin kaepernick (@kaepernick7) on Sep 3, 2018 at 12:20pm PDT

The latest Nike ad marks Kaepernick’s first spokesperson gig for the company in over two years and comes despite Nike being the NFL’s official uniform sponsor.

Kaepernick, who has been a Nike athlete since 2011, made headlines in August 2016 when he declined to stand for the anthem when it was played before games. Instead of standing, he kneeled to protest racial injustice and police brutality.