TV Legend Apologizes After ‘Fat Shaming’ Sherri Shepherd During Interview

Television legend Marlo Thomas apologized for “fat shaming” Sherri Shepherd during a recent stop on the former The View co-host’s new show. When the That Girl star appeared on Shepherd’s show Tuesday, she recalled how Shepherd “used to be a big woman” when they last met. On Thursday, Thomas said she thought she was complimenting Shepherd and said she will “never do it again.”

“I interviewed you for my AOL show [Mondays with Marlo]… and you used to be a big woman,” Thomas told Shepherd Tuesday on Sherri. “You’ve lost a lot of weight, but you’ve still got the boobies! That’s good.” Thomas made viewers even more uncomfortable by imitating Shepherd, holding her hands out in front of her stomach, and puffing up her face.

Shepherd laughed throughout the segment, but staffers told Page Six they were not happy. “Sherri was a good sport, but people [at the show] are very protective of her,” one insider said. “People were not happy that she fat-shamed her on national TV. It was like a slap in the face.”

They added that the staff was “very vocal” about how they felt. “She works really hard at creating a very positive environment. Morale [at work] is everything to her, so people sort of went into mama bear mode,” the source explained. A representative for Shepherd told Page Six that the host “laughed off the comment” as she did on television.

When Thomas, 84, stopped by Good Day New York on Thursday, she apologized for her comments. “I am so sorry about that,” she said. “I mean, I love her, and I thought I was giving a compliment. I said, ‘Wow, you’ve really lost weight!’ but I realized you’re not supposed to do that.” Thomas added that she “learned [her] lesson” and will “never do it again.”

In April 2021, Shepherd, 55, told PEOPLE that she recently lost 20 lbs. after deciding to make a lifestyle change during the coronavirus pandemic.She joined Healthy Wage, began exercising more, and changed her diet. “I realized I was able to make changes and be physically active to get my health in a better position,” she told the magazine.

Shepherd said that her son Jeffrey, 17, was the main reason she decided to work on her health. “He is the reason why I need to food prep and fit in exercise,” she said last year. “At 54, this is [the] best I have ever felt. My goal is to be living a long and active life with my son Jeffrey, who shares the same birthday as me.”