Jennifer Hudson throws support behind Kelly Clarkson and Sherri Shepherd following talk show endings

Jennifer Hudson reached out to support her fellow daytime TV hosts, Kelly Clarkson and Sherri Shepherd, after news broke that their syndicated talk shows were coming to an end. While Kelly chose to step back from her hosting duties to focus on her young family after seven seasons, Sherri’s show was canceled amid its four-season run.

Jennifer, whose own daytime TV series, The Jennifer Hudson Show, began airing in 2022, shared a message of support for Kelly following her announcement.  

“Kelly is amazing,” the EGOT winner told Variety. “I wish her the absolute best. She’s done really well – and she’s a GOAT!” Jennifer and Kelly are good friends, having both gotten their start on American Idol in the ’00s and appeared together as judges on The Voice.

“I think Jennifer and I are kind of an interesting dynamic because we’ve literally been the artists, and we’re really fans of each other too,” Kelly said during their time on The Voice. “We kind of team up together because we love each other,” Jennifer added.

The Dreamgirls star also supported her friend Sherri after her show was canceled, and sent a bouquet of flowers in the wake of the news.

“I’m so appreciative. I talked to Jennifer Hudson yesterday. She called me. I love her so much,” Sherri said in a social media clip. “She sent me these flowers that are just amazing. I sent her flowers too because she didn’t get her flowers yet from me.” Also standing by her side was Tamron Hall, who similarly runs a syndicated daytime talk show.

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“You just wrote your first children’s book,” Tamron wrote on Sherri’s social media post. “You are on an epic comedy tour, you have a podcast, and you took over a daytime space and made it your own. I’m tired just listing all you have done!! And the list of next chapter moments will be famazing [sic]. Love you family.”

Learn more about Jennifer’s talk show below…

Sherri’s show was canceled just hours after Kelly announced that she was leaving the daytime TV space after her seventh season, with TV production company Debmar-Mercury calling time on Sherri.

“This decision is driven by the evolving daytime television landscape and does not reflect on the strength of the show, its production – which has found strong creative momentum this season – or the incredibly talented Sherri Shepherd,” said Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus.

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“We believe in this show and in Sherri and intend to explore alternatives for it on other platforms.”

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Meanwhile, Kelly shared that she was stepping back in an Instagram post, writing: “There have been so many amazing moments and shows over these seven seasons,” before adding that she needed to “prioritize” her young children, River, 11, and Remy, nine.

“This isn’t goodbye. I’ll still be making music, playing shows here and there, and you may catch me on The Voice from time to time…you never know where I might show up next,” she concluded.