Sherri Shepherd has finally revealed the identity of the mystery celebrity who confronted her during a tense moment at the Broadway premiere of “Othello” earlier this year.
The actress and comedian spilled the tea on her June 9 appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” where hosts Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy and Loren Lorosa pressed the comedian and talk show host for details about the much-discussed incident that made waves months earlier.
She confirmed it was fellow actress Nia Long who “grabbed and spun” her around in an unexpected altercation at the theater.
The encounter took place during the March 23 premiere of the record-breaking Broadway production starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal.
The event drew an impressive crowd of A-list stars, including Jennifer Lopez, Angela Bassett, Kandi Burruss, Rosie Perez, and Danielle Brooks. But despite the evening’s glamour, things took a sharp left turn backstage.
According to Shepherd, Long confronted her without warning, grabbing her arms and spinning her around to face her directly. On her “Sherri” show the next day, Shepherd shared how the physical interaction caught her off guard.
“I’m standing there talking. Somebody grabbed my arms, and they forcefully turned me around,” she recalled, adding that she tried to remain upbeat despite the confrontation. “So I’m in a good mood, so I go, ‘Hi, what’s going on?’ ’cause I know her. And she says to me, she goes, ‘You’ve been shading me a lot.'”
Shocked, Shepherd allegedly responded, “No, no, I haven’t,” she said. But Long reportedly doubled down, saying, “Yes you have,” before abruptly walking away without any further conversation or context.
Charlamagne tha God wasted no time before directly asking whether the “Love Jones” actress ever accepted Shepherd’s invitation to come on her show.
After contending she never identified the person, Shepherd responded, “Yes. Yes, it was Nia Long. I didn’t say her name, but it was Nia.”
She continued, adding, “I don’t know who Nia Long had me confused with.”
“The only time I ever talked about Nia Long was when she went through that situation with her partner and infidelity,” said Shepherd. “I supported her. I said she deserves a good man to be with her.
“I think Nia Long maybe confused me with someone,” she added.
The clip in question is from January 2024 and criticizes Al Reynolds’ suggestion that Long stay with her ex-fiance Ime Udoka despite his cheating scandal.
That added layer made the Broadway moment even more confusing for Shepherd, who couldn’t understand how words of support were perceived as “shade.”
She also pushed back on the idea that speaking about the incident publicly was out of line.
“I have no idea who she thought was shading her, but it wasn’t me,” she said. “I have no beef with Nia Long. I’m a fan. We’re grown women, the same age, and we can discuss things. That’s why I invited her on the show.”
Social media wasted no time weighing in once the identity of the mystery woman was confirmed. Reactions have been mixed, with many offering strong opinions on both sides.
On “The Breakfast Club’s” Instagram page, some fans stood behind Shepherd.
One person wrote, “Love them both and like how Sherri handled this,” while another added, “Sherri is unproblematic. Nia don’t got no business touching nobody.”
Others sided with Long, believing there might be more going on behind the scenes than Shepherd let on.
“Girl bye! You got checked so move on,” one user wrote.
Another offered a more layered take: “Just maybe Sherri has made a comment (funny or negative) privately and it got back to Nia. I’m sure Nia ain’t delusional, however she should’ve approached it another way and at the right time.”
Some were convinced the confrontation was intentional.
“Nia knew exactly who you were and didn’t care,” one commenter on Hollywood Unlocked’s page wrote.
