On the mend. Sherri Shepherd was set to take over as a guest host on The Wendy Williams Show this week, but viewers won’t see her on screen for the time being.
“If you watched the @WendyWilliams show today, you saw the news about my emergency surgery. Thanks to @MichaelRapaport for stepping in for me at the last minute! And while I’m mad I didn’t meet WWE’s Naomi aka @trinity_fatu in person yet, Jeffrey did!” Shepherd, 54, captioned an Instagram post explaining her absence on Monday, December 13, noting that she would “share more later.”
The comedian shared several screenshots of a Deadline article, in which her publicist gave a statement explaining that Shepherd experienced a medical emergency.
“Due to appendicitis, Sherri Shepherd underwent an emergency surgery yesterday. The procedure was successful and Ms. Shepherd is doing fine and resting,” the statement read. “She is absolutely devastated that she will not be able to guest host The Wendy Williams Show today, but she is following doctors orders and expected to make a full recovery. Thank you all for understanding and respecting her privacy.”
Michael Rapaport filled in for the Emmy winner, who was set to cover for Wendy Williams after season 13 of her talk show was originally delayed.
Williams, 57, pushed back the season’s debut in September after testing positive for COVID-19. One month later, it was announced that a rotating group of Hollywood stars would be featured on the daytime series.
“As everyone knows, my health has been a hot topic. I’m making progress but it’s just one of those things that’s taking longer than we expected. I’m a woman of a certain age, and I know enough to listen to my doctors and will return to my purple chair as soon as we all agree I’m ready,” the former Love Triangle host wrote in an Instagram statement addressing her temporary departure in November. “I have heard your prayers and comments and feel all the love! You are everything to me. I love spending my mornings with you all and I’m doing everything I can to get back to work, but right now Wendy has to focus on Wendy.”
Celebrities including Leah Remini, Whitney Cummings, Jerry Springer and Bill Bellamy have appeared as guest hosts since Williams announced her short break.
Last month, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the New Jersey native wasn’t rushing her recovery following past health scares, noting at the time, “Wendy is making her own decisions as she sees fits. She’s getting better. She’s not getting worse. That’s encouraging.”
