Sherri Shepherd Reveals Crazy Thing Her ‘Greedy’ Ex-Husband Demanded During Divorce as She Weighs In on Viral Jurnee Smollett Rumor

Talk show host Sherri Shepherd recently shared a crazy revelation on her talk show, “Sherri,” about her own divorce after a gossip site recently revived interest in actress Jurnee Smollett’s process of splitting from her ex-husband.

The candid moment offered viewers a glimpse into the often messy reality of celebrity divorces, with Shepherd not holding back about her personal experience.

The Neighborhood Talk went viral with an Instagram post last week claiming that Jurnee Smollett’s ex-husband, musician Josiah Bell, “is now coming for” half of her retirement savings, including her Screen Actors Guild pension, despite already receiving nearly $1 million in their 2021 divorce settlement. The popular gossip site said it “obtained court documents” backing this reporting, but the now widely repeated claim did not explain how this squares with the fact that Bell apparently received half the SAG pension and half of Journee’s 401(k) when the divorce was finalized in 2021, as RadarOnline reported at the time.

Bell reportedly has been collecting $7,000 monthly in combined child support and alimony payments since their 2019 separation. The Neighborhood Talk’s possibly spurious report about what it framed as a new request has sparked controversy among fans and fellow celebrities alike.

This sent the “Sherri” show host over the edge.

“Jurnee Smollett, oh my goodness, her and her ex-husband Josiah Bell, they’ve been divorced for four years. He is asking for half of all Jurnee’s retirement money that she made when she was a kid,” Shepherd said to the audience, amplifying Neighborhood Talk’s apparently spurious post.

She continued, “I don’t know what makes Josiah think he’s entitled to the money she made when she was playing with the Olsen twins. This is her ‘Full House’ money. Jurnee wasn’t even thinking about that man back then. She couldn’t even spell Josiah.”

“It gets nasty in the divorce,” Shepherd added, before getting personal about a matter during her divorce.

“One of my ex husbands… he wanted my bed,” she said, noting he fought for the space they once shared. “He wanted my bedroom set, even though I bought it before we got married.”

The talk show host didn’t stop there, recalling her blunt response to the unusual request: “I said, ‘Hey, ninja, you weren’t the only man in this bed.’ I said, ‘This is the bed Sherri bought with Sherri’s money,’ and I told him and his lawyer, ‘He wasn’t the first one [in it] and he won’t be the last.’”

Viewers of “Sherri” were quick to respond on YouTube, with many applauding her candor.

“Prenup is like an insurance,” one commenter noted, while another added, “It’s like life insurance you don’t need It until you need it.”

“Sherri is so crazy, she’s giving some real talk about prenup and marriage, she got testimony,” wrote another viewer, with someone else chiming in, “Yessss Sherri Educate the people. I hate hearing these type of stories.”

The audience, laboring under the same apparent misapprehensions about Bell as the voluble talk show host, stridently condemned him.

“Her husband is a greedy petty man and he should be ashamed of himself,” one viewer commented.

Another didn’t mince words: “Josiah is such a loser! Live off of the money you already got from Jurnee or get nothing! He needs to be thankful that a judge let him get that because he doesn’t deserve that!”

Both Shepherd and Smollett have weathered highly publicized divorces.

Smollett, known for her roles in “Eve’s Bayou,” “Birds of Prey” and “Lovecraft Country,” separated from Bell around 2020 after nearly a decade of marriage. Their divorce was finalized in late 2021.

Shepherd’s divorce from her second husband, television writer Lamar Sally, was particularly complex.

The couple married in August 2011 and separated in May 2014 while expecting a child via surrogacy. The surrogate used Sally’s sperm and a donor egg, resulting in no genetic connection to Shepherd.

Following their split, a bitter legal battle ensued over parental responsibilities for Lamar Jr., born in August 2014. Shepherd attempted to void the surrogacy agreement and have her name removed from the birth certificate, claiming she had been misled.

However, in 2015, a Pennsylvania court declared her the legal mother, obligating her to pay child support, People reported.

Financially, Shepherd was ordered to pay $4,100 monthly, increasing to $4,600 when the child turns 13. Though Sally sought increased support in December 2015, citing Shepherd’s higher earnings, a judge denied this request in January 2017.

Their prenuptial agreement limited Sally’s spousal support to $60,000, reflecting the marriage’s short duration, The New York Post noted.

Sally contested the agreement, alleging fraud, but reportedly without success. Notably, Sally had proposed an amendment requiring Shepherd to maintain a specific body weight and commit to certain marital expectations, which she refused to sign.

Additionally, according to the Daily Mail, Shepherd accused Sally of withdrawing $20,000 from their joint account without her consent, a claim he disputed by stating the funds were used for expenses related to their surrogate-born child.

As the comedian said on her show, “You don’t go into marriage thinking you’re gonna get divorced but if it happens it gets it could get so nasty.”