Sherri Shepherd was scheduled to return to guest hosting The Wendy Williams Show the week of Dec. 13-17, but she had to back out unexpectedly due to a health crisis.
The 54-year-old found herself with the condition appendicitis, a painful, dangerous inflammation of the appendix. It required emergency surgery.
“Due to appendicitis, Sherri Shepherd underwent an emergency surgery yesterday. The procedure was successful and Ms. Shepherd is doing fine and resting,” her reps shared in a statement. “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.”
Shepherd’s return to guest hosting the program was something many were looking forward to. She brought in Season 13’s highest ratings with her sense of humor and camaraderie with guests she interviewed. No one was looking forward to seeing her back delivering Hot Topics and more than Shepherd, herself.
“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!” she wrote on Instagram. “I’ll share more later…”
Shepherd has been one of the few celebrity guest hosts stepping in for Williams (including actors Bill Bellamy and Michael Rapaport and actress Leah Remini), who has been working through her own health issues, including from a breakthrough case of COVID-19 and complications related to her Graves’ disease and thyroid conditions. She hasn’t been a part of promoting or appearing on Season 13 of the talk show and after recent news revealed that she could possibly return in February, it’s truly unclear when she’ll be back. We’re hoping for rest and good recovery for both ladies.