Sherri Shepherd is known for her commentary on "The View" and her recent dealings with weight loss, motherhood, divorce and dating again. Sometimes we forget that she entered showbiz as a comic. For Shepherd, comedy was a way to escape the bullying she experienced in school as a Black girl in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates.
Sherri Shepherd is known for her commentary on “The View” and her recent dealings with weight loss, motherhood, divorce and dating again. Sometimes we forget that she entered showbiz as a comic. For Shepherd, comedy was a way to escape the bullying she experienced in school as a Black girl in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates. “My dad worked two jobs and moved us to the suburbs, and just being a Black person, I went through a lot of racism and being called names and being bullied every single day,” Shepherd told People. “And it was hard. I didn’t have any friends.” As the famous saying goes — that which does not kill us makes us stronger. Shepherd found her strength in laughter. “I think it made me who I am,” she said. “That’s why I’m a stand-up comic.” Shepherd got some insight from her parents that may have helped launch her career. “They said, ‘you make people laugh.’ I would make people who bullied me laugh, so that’s my defense mechanism.” Do you think that laughter is a good way to deal with bullies? What’s your ‘defense mechanism?’