Barbara Walters once told The View’s Sherri Shepherd she should be a lesbian – right before her wedding
Sherri Shepherd (L) and Barbara Walters enjoyed working together for many years. (Getty)
The late news anchor Barbara Walters once gave Sherri Shepherd some humorous advice about her love life.
During an interview reflecting on Walters’ legacy, the former host of The View opened up about her off-screen relationship with the legendary newscaster, who died on 30 December aged 93.
And according to Shepherd, the trailblazing journalist, who famously created the iconic daytime talk show in 1997, was “completely different” one-on-one.
She recalled one hilarious interaction she had with Walters in the lead-up to her wedding with her second husband Lamar Sally.
“We talked about sex nonstop,” Shepherd told ET. “She gave me marriage advice. Barbara said, ‘You always get with men who take your money, don’t get married anymore.
“You need to become a lesbian, but come to think of it, a lesbian would probably take your money too.'”
Sheperd went on to praise Walters’ trademark wit.
“She had a wonderful, wicked sense of humour and she supported me in everything I did.”
Shepherd even revealed it was Walters who helped her secure a permanent gig on The View in 2007 with Whoopi Goldberg.
“The network didn’t want me,” she explained, “because at that time [the network] thought that all African-Americans were monolithic in their thinking, that we were gonna say the same thing.
“Whoopi and I couldn’t have been more opposite in our thoughts so she fought to have two black women at the table.”
Walters’ relationship with the LGBTQ+ community throughout her career has been mixed. Back in 2000, she pressured singer Ricky Martin to come out on The View.
During the programme, she urged Martin to say whether or not he was gay, saying: “I don’t want to put you on the spot and it’s in your power to do it and I’m bringing it up with you Ricky because you know that this is being said and you’re even being named.”
This led to Martin admitting he felt “violated” and in 2010, Walters told Toronto Star it was her one regret when it came to her career.
However, she has also done some positive work. Back in 2007, she presented the groundbreaking 20/20 special, “My Secret Self: A Story of Transgender Children” in which she interviewed YouTube personality Jazz Jennings.
The episode earned Walters a GLAAD award, to which she responded: “You can forget all the Emmys. This means more to me.”
