Sherri Shepherd's View on Barbara Walters Using the N-Word? "When You Say the Word, I Don't Like It"

We're on apology watch as fingers point at Walters for referring to an offensively named hunting camp by its actual name

By Natalie Finn Oct 03, 2011 8:40 PMTags

Talk about your hot topics.

During a discussion about a sign for an amorally hunting camp that sat on land belonging to GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry, Barbara Walters creeped out Sherri Shepherd on today's episode of The View when said the N-word in reference to the camp's name, "N----rhead."

Whoopi Golderberg said it as well (and before Walters did), and ABC bleeped all of it out, but you can bet people have their own views on the veteran newswoman dropping an N-bomb.

"It's so hard to know what to say now, so I just used the word, OK?" Goldberg said of her decision to drop the N-bomb as Perry's fellow presidential hopeful Herman Cain did on TV while discussing the issue.

Walters also said "N----rhead" in reference to the camp's name, and Shepherd immediately interrupted with, "OK, there's a difference between the way you and Whoopi say it."

"The fact that I said it gives me chills right now. The fact that you say it—we never use that word, and Herman Cain did," Walters continued.

Shepherd expressed her unease again a moment later.

"When I heard you say it, it was fine," she told Goldberg. Then, to Walters, "When I heard you say it, I didn't like the way you said it! Because when you say it...I'm not sure if it's a semantics thing, but it's something that goes through my body...I probably could never explain the way I feel."

"Forgive me if I didn't say it in exactly the same way," Walters said.

"Even if you did you still wouldn't have said it the right way," Shepherd fired back, her conclusion being that no white person should ever utter the word, ever. "It's nothing on you, Barbara, it's nothing on you...When you say the word, I don't like it. When white people say it, it brings up feelings in me."

"What happened to, like, 'The Deer Lodge,' where they hunt deer?" offered up Joy Behar in an attempt at getting the argument on a different track.

A rep for The View had no comment on what went down today, but the show's official Twitter account posted a link to video of the segment and asked: "Our co-hosts' 'N-word' debate from the morning...What do you think? Is it OK for anyone to say that word?"

Hilary Shelton, the NAACP's senior VP for advocacy and policy, said she had no comment at this time of what went down on The View. But, she said that Perry was just making excuses about the sign being painted over.

"At least on the surface, he seems to be covering it up for political expediency—whitewashing—but of course it has shown through," Shelton said.