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Sherri Shepherd knows what it’s like to be interviewed, so her approach to interviewing others pulls from her own experience. “I’ve been doing guest hosting, sitting on people’s couches as the person getting interviewed for so long…So I think all of that, being a co-host on Dish Nation and doing standup, it’s prepared me to do this,” The ‘SHERRI’ Show host told HollywoodLife during an EXCLUSIVE interview at Variety’s Power Of Women event. Recall, The View alum took over hosting duties for Wendy Williams amid her health struggles, and eventually earning her own eponymous talkshow nearly a year ago, produced by Debmar-Mercury.
“Doing The View for seven years was the ultimate learning experience,” she went on to admit. “I had Whoopie [Goldberg] on one side and Barbara [Walters] on the other side, so the comedic and the serious.” Due to her smiley approach and effervescent personality, it’s no wonder that Sherri’s guests are so quick to warm up and open up to the host. However, she also shows her kindness behind the scenes, making her guests feel immediately at home and comfortable. “I start out each show by writing every [guest] a handwritten note, so that when they’re walk into the dressing room, there’s a note from me saying, ‘We’re going to have fun and I’m excited!’” Sherri revealed. “Then, after I talk to the audience, I go upstairs and give them the biggest hug and the tightest hug, and I find common ground.”
She added, “We dance a little bit upstairs, and then by the time they come down, they’re completely relaxed.” The multi-hyphenate, who also stars as Senator Evette Chase in Sex Lives Of College Girls, doesn’t plan to slow down anytime soon, as she juggles her daytime show filming schedule, stand-up comedy shows and auditioning for news roles. “It’s not work. I’m so fortunate to be able to act and have a talk show and do standup comedy,” she gushed. “Only thing I can’t do is sing. I can karaoke. We’re doing that for my birthday. But I feel very blessed and fortunate to be able to do all of that, so it’s just all fun to me.”
For more information about SHERRI and tickets to the live studio audience, visit SHERRISHOWTV.com!
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