In light of recent ‘prophecy’ of rapture coming for Christians, as predicted by a South African pastor, many people sold their houses, cars and belongings. But surprise surprise, rapture didn’t occur. September 23rd 2025, the assumed date to the big event came and went. And netizens laughed over the people who got believed all this. However, this was not the fist time and these people were not alone.
Imagine having to tell a judge that you ignored your parking tickets because you believed Jesus was about to arrive. If you thought that was a bad thing, Sherri Shepherd, the Emmy-winning talk show host, recently told her studio audience that she once went so far as to put her faith in the rapture that it got her in jail.
Yes, the same Sherri Shepherd who makes millions laugh daily on her daytime show once turned into what she humbly calls a “hardened criminal” because she thought the world was ending!
Shepherd revealed during a taping of Sherri that she had no intention of attending work on September 23 of this year because of the outcry on TikTok related to a pastor’s prediction that the rapture was coming soon. She said, “People were getting their affairs in order,” but it never happened. The irony is that she’s been on this path before, and the last time it went terribly wrong, it came to be biblical.
Shepherd admitted that she was formerly part of a religious organization that believed the rapture was near. What do they advise? Organize your “house.” Her opinion? “Why? I’m not going to need a house (…) where I am going.”
Believing that bills, taxes, and even traffic fines would soon become as outdated as dial-up internet, she chose not to pay them and instead get ready for the future. That decision cost was high: $10,000 in unpaid moving violations. Court dates meant nothing to her because Sherri Shepherd didn’t think she’d need to appear in court when the apocalypse was at the door.
Her car registration had expired for two years. The world didn’t end, though. But for eight days at least, her freedom did. Ironically, Sherri Shepherd was arrested en route to a comedy club gig and ended up in jail. Although she dressed for a stage rather than a cell, she recalled how it felt to go from spotlights to prison.
Sherri Shepherd joked,
“Jesus don’t care about no parking tickets (…) Well, the world never ended. I went to jail.”
Even though eight days might not seem like much, Shepherd gained a fresh perspective on faith, duty, and the dangers of believing in apocalyptic hype. She said, “Because I fell for the rapture, I became a hardened criminal.”
At least, Shepherd’s journey shows us the power of perseverance. She has made a massive recovery from avoiding taxes to landing TV deals. Her Harlem townhouse, which she once rented, was profiled by The Root this week and is now for sale for $3.2 million. The five-story building on Hamilton Terrace has a rooftop terrace with views of Uptown and marble walls. Not precisely the digs of a woman who prepares for the end of the world.
The truth lies in the difference between the townhouse tour and jail bars. In one of Manhattan’s most costly neighborhoods, Sherri Shepherd has managed to laugh at her past, turn it into a comedy, and continue to make ends meet, whether rapture comes or not.
In case you were wondering, she has been paying her bills!
NEXT UP: Sherri Shepherd Makes Bizarre Comment About Motherhood On ‘The View’
