The confrontation between Sherri Shepherd and Nia Long has been confirmed.
The actresses had a run-in during the opening night of Broadway production Othello in late March, where Long allegedly approached Shepherd about once "shading" her. Although Shepherd didn't name any names while recounting the incident on her talk show, during a visit on radio program The Breakfast Club on Monday (June 9), the entertainer revealed that the woman was Long after months of speculation. Tied to Shepherd's admission, here's some of what we know about the ladies' spat.
What happened between Sherri Shepherd and Nia Long?
During an episode of Shepherd's talk show Sherri in March, around the eight-minute mark of the video below, the host recounted the showdown between her and Long, who she referred to as “unknown celebrity.” After allegedly "forcefully" turning Shepherd around by the arms, insisting that she had been "shading her a lot," Long was said to have walked off. But Shepherd went to the bathroom during the 15-minute intermission of Othello, waiting for Long to approach her again for a conversation.
"You don't get to pull me and turn me around like we're in a doggone cartoon and then walk away," Shepherd said, adding that Long had her "confused" for another person.
"I know I didn't shade you," she continued. "Matter of fact, when something scandalous came up about you, I was on your side when it happened. So I would say to unnamed celebrity–'cause we've known each other a long time–come sit on my couch so we can talk about it."
Shepherd admitted that the woman was Long on a new episode of The Breakfast Club, although she continued to insist that she was "confused" for another person. "The only time I've ever talked about Nia Long is when she went through it with her partner," she continued, referring to NBA coach Ime Udoka. "I supported her and [said] that she should she deserves to have a good man to be with her."
"There's not a lot of Black women on TV, so I I have no idea who she thought was shading her, but it was not me," Shepherd continued. "I have no beef with Nia Long; I'm a fan of hers. We're grown women we're both the same age so we can discuss it. That's why I invited her on my show."
What was Nia Long's last public scandal?
Long's relationship with Udoka ended in 2022 after the Houston Rockets head coach was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a Boston Celtics staff member. The couple, who began dating in 2010, were engaged and share a son, Kez Udoka, 13, while Long has an older son, Massai Dorsey, 24, from a previous relationship.
Long filed for primary custody of Kez during the scandal and shared her disappointment about Udoka's cheating being publicly revealed by the Celtics organization.
"If you’re in the business of protecting women—I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK. It’s very disappointing," Long told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022.