- - Sherri Shepherd Says It's 'No Secret' Jenny McCarthy 'Hated' “The View”: I 'Felt Really Bad for My Friend'

Charlotte PhillippJanuary 9, 2026 at 4:29 AM

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Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy. -

Sherri Shepherd is opening up about her former The View co-host Jenny McCarthy's recent statements about never wanting to return to the panel show

"It's no secret Jenny McCarthy hated being on The View," Shepherd said

McCarthy claimed on a podcast that she was hired to bring a lighthearted energy to the show, but quickly was overwhelmed when the show's producers changed their focus to politics

Sherri Shepherd is opening up about her former The View co-host Jenny McCarthy's recent statements about returning to the panel talk show over her own "dead body."

During the Jan. 8 episode of her talk show, Sherri — a clip of which was previewed by EW — Shepherd, 58, reacted to McCarthy's recent podcast appearance, during which she opened up about her frustrations about her time on The View, considering the show hired her to speak about lighter topics on the air, but pivoted to discussing politics once she arrived.

"It's no secret Jenny McCarthy hated being on The View," Shepherd said in the clip. "I remember the day they switched it to politics, Jenny came into my dressing room just like that. She goes, 'Sherri, oh my God, what am I gonna do?' And I looked at her, I said, 'What are you gonna do? What are we gonna do!' "

According to Shepherd, "Everything that Jenny is saying is absolutely true," and that she "felt really bad for my friend, because they did — they brought her on the show after a lot of focus groups said they wanted less fighting about politics. They wanted it to be more chill and more fun."

Per EW, the 30 Rock actress remembered McCarthy as "light," "funny" and "sexy," but revealed that "the focus groups changed their minds" about bringing politics back during their Hot Topics segment.

"Two weeks later, they had the girl wearing glasses, and I looked over and said, 'What the hell are you wearing glasses for?' She was like, 'Sherri, they want me to look like I know politics,' " Shepherd recalled. "I was sitting there, and I said, 'How do you have Playmate of the Year looking conservative?' They'd try to make Jenny look conservative, but all she looked like was a sexy librarian."

McCarthy, who served as a co-host in 2013 and 2014 during season 17, talked candidly about her experience on the daytime talk show during the Tuesday, Jan. 6 episode of The Katie Miller Podcast.

When asked if she thinks she'd be invited back as a co-host on the show, now in its 29th season, McCarthy reflected on her initial invitation.

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Jenny McCarthy on 'The View' in 2013.

"The reason why they wanted to bring me on is because they, quote, said it was too polarizing. They thought it was too polarizing back then, you guys," she said.

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According to McCarthy, the show initially intended to bring her on as a permanent panelist to provide "light, fluffy and fun" commentary on topics such as Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor.

"They're like, 'Today we’re going to be discussing the hostage situation and whether the United States government should pay the ransom or not. And I was like, 'What?' " McCarthy recalled. "I'm like, 'I just know who won Dancing with the Stars.' So getting through that year was really difficult."

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Sherri Shepherd on 'The View' in 2021.

Shepherd, who joined The View in 2007, said during her talk show that she "had the same problem as Jenny, because when I came on the show, they wanted someone light, they wanted a person who was a mother, to talk about being single, being a mother, it was supposed to be very light."

"But then, Barack Obama ran for president, and politics was all we talked about," recalls Shepherd, who adds that, because she grew up in a strict religion, she didn't even vote in her early adult life, and that the religion hindered her understanding of the wider world around her.

"Even though it was hard for me, I had the best time on The View. It was one of the best, hardest, most terrifying, most crying-filled experiences, but I loved it, and I'm friends for life with the women that I sat with at that table," Shepherd added, noting that she considers the group of current and former co-hosts, including Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck "a sisterhood."

"I used to make so many flubs, but those ladies, every time, they protected me. They never let anybody talk about me. I love them so much over at The View. I do know what it's like. I feel bad that Jenny went through all of that. She felt like it was a bait and switch," she finishes, before celebrating the fact that "now, we're lifelong friends because we were on The View together."

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