Despite the upset, Shepherd still managed to keep the audiences in good spirits.
It’s not everyday that the vice president stops by a daytime talk show for a quick chat, but that’s exactly what fans and audiences of the “Sherri” show were expecting last week when Vice President Kamala Harris was slated to join.
However, they were met with disappointment as the VP did not end up coming due to inclement weather, which forced her to stay put and not fly in her chopper to New York City. This last minute change of plans was reportedly met with “panic” from the show’s producers, who planned for Harris’ visit to make up the majority of the show’s airtime. They reportedly only had two hours to change directions and come up with a new plan.
“I know that everybody was excited to see Madam Vice President, Vice President Kamala Harris today, yes. But in life, this is what we teach our kids, life is always throwing curveballs. Sometimes you gotta just go with the flow,” Shepherd began.
“Vice President Kamala Harris was supposed to get in her vice presidential chopper and fly from D.C. to New York to be here with us. But because of the weather back there, she could not fly out to be here with us in person. I was so disappointed, but here is the thing, when you are the second most powerful person on the planet, they don’t let you fly if there is anything. So they would not clear her to take off.”
Thankfully, thinking on the fly and pivoting well are a skills most standup comedians like Shepherd have mastered so she was able to still deliver a good show for her audience despite the snafu.
“The rest of us, they’ll fly us. How many times have you been on a plane and they’re like ‘sorry, we lost an engine but we’ll be there shortly,’’ Shepherd said in jest.
Per a show insider to Page Six: “The entire hour was dedicated to the Vice President. Ultimately, since Sherri is a standup comic, they opted to give her double monologues — and it allowed her to make fun of everything that had transpired.”
They later added, “The studio audience initially seemed devastated. However he [executive producer Jawn Murray] shared how the producing team was pulling ‘Matrix’-like moves behind the scenes to make sure they still had a good time, and the audience cheered and applauded.”
