Sherri Shepherd once discovered the hard way that it is better to avoid involving Joy Behar when trying to hide a secret from Barbara Walters. On the episode of Sherri that aired on Wednesday, Shepherd invited Behar, a former coworker from The View, to discuss about a particularly juicy tidbit of rumor: Apparently, the late journalist once hooked up with comic and actor Richard Pryor.
Shepherd said Wednesday that writer and comic Paul Mooney had previously admitted to her that he had accidentally watched Walters and Pryor, which she immediately shared with Behar.
“I arrived and informed you of what I had heard from Paul Mooney, who claimed to have walked in on Barbara and Richard Prior. After that, I said, “Don’t tell anyone!” said Shepherd. The following day, Barbara enters the room, and you say something along the lines of, “So, you’re schlepping Richard Prior, huh?” (Note: Behar said “shtupping” with clarity.)
Shepherd remembered that Walters spun around and asked, “Who told you that?!” in a severe voice. “You know, Barbara’s head would swivel like that,” Shepherd said. While this was happening, Shepherd was “sitting there like, I done just got this job!”
When they were coworkers on The View, Shepherd’s dread of Walters was brought up by Behar and Shepherd during their conversation. As Shepherd has previously mentioned, the two had a challenging working arrangement.
Shepherd admits that Walters was “tough on me,” even though she recently told The Daily Beast that she considered Walters as a “big mentor” who was “instrumental” in helping her discover her voice. She was quite harsh with me. However, I’m happy since it benefits me right here.
Shepherd remembered that at the time, “I was like, I can’t cry any more tears. Are you against me? Every day, you are relying on me for something, lady!” But Shepherd said that on the day Walters left, “she put her hand on my face and said, ‘I’m the most proud of you. You completed the required tasks, including your homework and research.
Shepherd claimed that Walters started crying as soon as she said “I love you, dear” and got into an elevator to depart; her “big mentor” asked, “What are you crying for?!” She claimed that one incident encapsulated their connection quite well.