'The View' Co-Host Admits Barbara Walters Made Her 'Cry for Three Years Straight' as She Was Suffering 'A Lot of Failures and Humiliations' on Show
Sherri Shepherd claimed Barbara Walters made her 'cry for three years straight' while on 'The View.'
Oct. 2 2025, Published 11:18 a.m. ET
A former star of The View has made a shocking allegation against the late Barbara Walters, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
During an appearance on The Jamie Kern Lima Show, Sherri Shepherd opened up about her unpleasant experience with Walters.
Sherri Shepherd Learned to Find Her Voice on 'The View'
Sherri Shepherd said Barbara Walters made her 'cry for three years straight.'
"I did cry for three years," she shared. "Barbara Walters made me cry for three years straight."
Shepherd, who joined The View in 2007, said the experience "taught her" how to find her voice.
"That’s what Barbara Walters did for me. I found my voice on that show. What I joke about, I say now my voice is deep because Barbara told me when your voice is deeper, it projects confidence. So that I joke about," she stated.
Sherri Shepherd Confessed Barbara Walters 'Was Hard' on Her
Sherri Shepherd said Barbara Walters told her to 'read a book.'
Regardless of that being a positive thing, Shepherd noted Walters "was hard" on her.
"She was like, 'Read a book. Know why you’re saying what you’re saying. Be able to defend what you’re saying. It’s okay if you fall. It’s okay if you make a mistake.' And that’s what I learned," she added.
Shepherd ended up spending seven years on The View, exiting in 2014 once her contract expired. She revealed she was thankful for her time on the show.
"The View, a lot of people say, ‘Oh, they talk bad about The View.’ For me, it was one of the best experiences of my life," the Sherri host said.
She also noted she was scared to speak up prior to joining the show as a panelist.
“When I got on The View, it was everything I hated to do, I had to do every day on The View. I was a very fearful person,” she explained. “I was not like that, I was very fearful, I was very shy. I didn’t express my opinion. I learned it, I said it, but I was not this Sherri. To be interrupting people… if I didn’t interrupt people on The View, I didn’t get hurt.”
Rosie O'Donnell Convinced Sherri Shepherd to Negotiate a Higher Salary
While Barbara Walters was hard on Sherri Shepherd, Rosie O'Donnell convinced her to negotiate a higher salary.
While she was initially nervous to “go up against” the other women, she detailed her producing partner advised her to stand by her opinions and eventually she stopped “censoring” herself.
This isn’t the first time Shepherd talked about The View, as she recently dished to a media outlet Rosie O’Donnell convinced her to negotiate a higher salary with executives on the series.
“They didn’t want to give me no money,” Shepherd claimed. “I would have made more in a sitcom, and I got a boy with special needs.”
What Did Sherri Shepherd Learn From Barbara Walters?
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Sherri Shepherd said Barbara Walters taught her to 'jump in.'
While Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck were reportedly getting $500K, she shared she was only offered $400K. After negotiations, she ended up getting over $1 million.
When she departed the show, Shepherd shared she was making $2 million.
After Walters died in 2022, Shepherd reflected on her former co-star, sharing the best piece of advice she gave her was “you have to speak up or you will get left behind.”
“I was just ready to follow the rules. I was a nice girl — and I learned that from Barbara, you have to jump in,” she elaborated. “You have to speak.”
