Sherri Shepherd Cries Tears of Joy After Janet Jackson Surprises Her Live On-Air

Sherri Shepherd got her Christmas gift early on Friday’s episode of her talk show. The 30 Rock and The View alum was brought to tears after her best friend and executive producer, Jawn Murray, revealed Janet Jackson as Shepherd’s big holiday surprise.

“What do you give the woman who has everything? Even her own talk show,” Murray said, introducing the superstar singer. Shepherd was without a doubt surprised by the appearance of Jackson, having trouble comprehending what was happening exactly.

“I’m crying. The tears keep coming,” Shepherd tells the Rhythm Nation icon. “I cannot believe that you are here. Are you real? Is this a hologram or is it Janet Jackson? Are you real? How is it possible that you’re here? How did you get here?”

Jackson will be taking the stage in the new year for a new tour, titled Together Again with supporting act Ludacris. And Shepherd now has an invite to the first show of the tour on April 14 in Hollywood, Florida. “I brought you a little gift,” Jackson told Shepherd. “In April, I’m kicking off my Together Again tour and I wanted to invite you to the first show. If you want to come.”

The host wasted no time accepting the invite, leading to her attempting to offer her services in the backup to Jackson on stage. “I heard that you’re looking for people to dance with you on some of your shows,” Shepherd said. “Can I do the one where you bring somebody on stage, and you do the straddle thing? If you need back up, I’ll stand in. I’ll do that for you.”

But then Shepherd gets a little serious, illuminating why she has such a deep love for Jackson and how the singer has inspired her in life. “I sat outside your first concert at Blockbuster or Warehouse Records trying to get tickets… I sat outside your house when you lived in Encino all night. When you came out the gate and you saw all of those people screaming, that was me. You have inspired me for so many years and you are so absolutely amazing,” Shepherd said.

Jackson also used the appearance to add more dates to her tour after the response to her midweek announcement. “You guys, I miss you so much. I am so excited to see you,” Jackson said in the video announcement. “You guys have no idea. I’ve missed you so much, so much, and I can’t wait to be with you. I’m so excited.” Jackson’s last tour was in 2017, running through April 2019.