It’s been too long since we had a good celebrity blind item. I don’t mean the ones started by DeuxMoi, I mean an actual famous person telling a juicy story about an anonymous peer. Like when Rebecca Ferguson said her “idiot” co-star yelled at her on set? That was good. We’re approaching that level again with a story brought to us by Sherri Shepherd about a mystery celeb who grabbed her by the arm and berated her at the opening night of Othello.
On Monday’s episode of her daytime talk show, Shepherd detailed the interaction to her audience. She said that she was talking to Devale and Khadeen Ellis when an “unnamed celebrity” came up, grabbed her arm, and “forcefully” turned her around.
“I’m in a good mood, so I said, ‘Hi! What’s going on?’ because I know her,” Shepherd said, “She says to me, she goes, ‘You’ve been shading me a lot.’” Shepherd told her audience that she was really confused by the interaction and denied the accusation. The unnamed celeb was undeterred and told Shepherd, “Yes, you have,” before walking off.
“I don’t know who you think I am,” Shepherd said, addressing the mystery celeb directly. “I think you got me confused with somebody, one of the bloggers or the influencers, because I know I didn’t shade you. Matter of fact, when something scandalous came up about you, I was on your side when it happened.” The host then graciously invited the celebrity onto her show so they could talk it out.
So, who grabbed Sherri Shepherd? Well, it really could have been anyone. Othello’s opening night was packed to the brim with famous people, many of whom I imagine have sensitive egos. We know it was a woman, so that rules out Peter Dinklage, Colman Domingo, and Joe Biden. However, that means it could’ve been anyone from Martha Stewart to Jennifer Lopez.
We might already have an answer, though — according to “Page Six,” the anonymous celebrity was … Nia Long. That would track with what Shepherd said about being on her grabber’s side when they were in the middle of their own mess. When Long split from then-boyfriend Ime Udoka after he was caught in a public cheating scandal, Shepherd commended Long’s decision.
While it would’ve been fun to comb through the guest list — was it you, Katie Holmes? — this seems pretty open-and-shut. Here’s hoping Long takes Shepherd up on her invitation to talk it out on the couch. Daytime TV could use a little more conflict, seeing as the spiciest thing to happen recently is Drew Barrymore talking about getting ghosted. Let’s get some real beef going!
