Sunny Hostin has been a staple on The View since joining in 2016. One could argue that she's one of the show's most recognizable pundits at this points. (Especially since she's shared notable thoughts that have earned mixed reactions from her co-hosts and viewers alike.) Some may remember that Hostin was pretty much a TV newbie when she joined the long-running daytime program. As a result, when she was brought on, she didn’t quite have a grasp on the financial aspect of the business. Luckily, there was former co-host Sherri Shepard, who helped Hostin get more money when she was tapped for the program.
Sherri Shepard was a host on the ABC daytime chatfest from 2007 to 2014. So she only worked with Sonny Hostin during her final season, during which Hostin was a guest commentator. It was apparently during that time that Shepard gave the then-newly minted co-host some inside information on The View. The two TV personalities spoke about the shared moment while Hostin appeared as a guest on Sherri, where she expressed her gratitude:
I don’t even know if you remember this, but when I signed my deal sheet you gave me a call. I don’t know how you got my number … and you were like, ‘I heard you’re coming on the show.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah I’m joining the show.’ She was like, ‘Did they give you a car stipend?’ I was like, ‘No.’ ‘Did they give you this?’ I was like, ‘No.’ And I was like let me get my deal sheet out. And you basically went over your salary for the entire time you were there. And you also gave me Jenny McCarthy’s salary…You gave me everyone’s salary and I went back to my agent, and I was like, ‘You did not get me enough money.’
That was definitely lovely of Sherri Shepard to fill Sunny Hostin in on how she should be compensated for her work on the highly watched daytime TV offering. One gets the impression that the insight was invaluable for her, especially since she came from a somewhat different news arena. Before sitting on The View panel full-time, Hostin had only served as a legal contributor on network and cable news. So this was her first real experience with consistent work within the television sphere.
Sherri Shepard was only paying it forward as former co-host Rosie O’Donnell -- who recently recalled her feud with Elisabeth Hasselbeck -- had done the same for her before she signed her first contract. It pretty much goes without saying that the ABC show gets a lot of criticism for the alleged in-fighting amongst its personalities. So it's really sweet to hear positive stories about them such as these.
Today, Sunny Hostin seems to be a pro when it comes to being on the air and making her voice heard on numerous topics. She’s opened up about representing women of color on TV every day. and, more recently, she addressed former co-host Meghan McCain’s viral criticisms of the talk show. The media pundit also dropped her thoughts on former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s firing. Hostin seems to have plenty of confidence as both a TV star and businesswoman and, when it comes to the latter, we can give a major thanks to Sherri Shepard.
Viewers can hear what Sunny Hostin had to say by watching The View on ABC at 11 a.m. EST every weekday. Also, learn when other daytime talk shows air by checking out CinemaBlend's 2023 TV schedule.
