Talk show host Sherri Shepherd explained to her “Sherri” studio audience on Oct. 24 that her expenses are the reason why she is hesitant to bid at charity auctions, saying she was only competitive at a Broadway show charity event starring Hugh Jackman.
Normally she doesn’t bid she said because, “I’m on a budget, so I got ex-husbands and things to take care of, so I don’t.”
A Shirt and a Kiss
In retelling of a past experience from back when she co-hosted “The View,” Shepherd told viewers she jokingly offered a $6,500 bid for a shirt worn by Jackman and a kiss, and she got exactly what she bargained for.
She explained she tries to start off bidding at charity events just to get the ball rolling, with no intention of really seeing the bidding all the way through. She did this at the Jackman event.
“I screamed — it was dark in the theater — and I said Hugh Jackman I bid $6,500 for the shirt but you gotta give me a kiss. So everybody in the audience, they were laughing and people going ‘oh my gosh, she was so funny.’ I was like, ‘thank you so much,'” she recalled.
Shepherd was under the impression that she would get outbid throughout the auction, which she did. But she changed her mind since the auction was for a good cause — specifically for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. So, Shepherd raised her bid to $8,000, adding comically she was thirsting for the kiss.
“I wanted to keep the bid kept going up, so I screamed, ‘Hugh Jackman, I bid $8,000 but I want a kid a kiss.’ And everybody’s just applauding me, he’s laughing,” says Shepherd.
Eventually, the final bid rose to $11,000, and Shepherd told the audience her efforts were met with praise and laughter, including by Jackman.
Although she was beaten by the winning $11,000 bid, right before Shepherd was going to leave the event Jackman halted everyone — he wanted the kiss and to give her his spare tank top.
According to Shepherd, he shouted out, “‘There’s a lady in the audience, and she bid $8,500 and I’m going to give away a second tank top to the lady in the audience and I’m gonna give you a kiss.’ And I was sitting here like, ‘oh, shoot.'”
Shepherd had not planned on paying and was just going to leave before Jackman made the announcement.
Shepherd’s $8,500 bid was now accepted.
The host said she tried to sneak out of the dark theater undetected but security grabbed her by her arm, a common occurrence at auctions, she said, and escorted her to the area to pay. On top of this, people recognized her as started calling out her name, “The were saying, ‘It’s Sherrie Shepherd from ‘The View.’ I was giving everyone the middle finger, I was so mad.”
Shepherd said she was pulled backstage, where she was greeted by Jackman holding the sweaty tanktop in his hands.
Shepherd told Jackman that she was joking about bidding and that she did not have $8,500 readily available in her checking account. Jackman told her he would come on “The View” and give her the tank top she won.
The former host of “The View” had two marriages that ended in nasty divorces to exes Lamar Sally, from 2011 to 2014; and Jeff Tarpley, from 2001 to 2009.
Telling Her Husband
Returning home, the host said he had vowed to talk with her then-new husband (she did not mention which one) about making big financial decisions. They had an agreement that neither of them would spend over $100 without discussing with each other. “And here I was over thousands,” she joked.
Shepherd gave away her kiss to an audience member and handed over her $8,500 check to Jackman, who appeared as a guest on “The View” a few days later, when he gave her the tank top.
“I will never start another auction off ever again,” she declared.
