Sherri Shepherd says Rapture belief led to eight days in jail after dodging taxes and tickets

Sherri Shepherd revealed on her daytime talk show Sherri that a belief in the Rapture once led her to dodge taxes, parking tickets and other court obligations, a miscalculation that ended in an eight-day jail stay. The 58-year-old comedian, a former co-host of The View and a supporting cast member on 30 Rock, recalled being drawn in years ago by warnings that the end times were imminent and stopping payments on bills, taxes and fines, convinced the Rapture would whisk her away to heaven. “I didn’t plan on being here today. I thought the Rapture was going to take me up to heaven,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd said she stopped paying her bills, taxes and traffic fines, accumulating roughly $10,000 in moving violations. She was pulled over on the way to perform at the Comedy Store in Hollywood and arrested on outstanding warrants, spending eight days in jail. “I went to jail for eight days and, because I fell for the Rapture, I became a hardened criminal,” Shepherd joked. She added that she learned a hard lesson and that the experience tempered her views on future doomsday predictions.

Shepherd explained she was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, embracing the faith’s strict teachings about the imminent Rapture before later leaving the faith and identifying as a Christian who centers on forgiveness and grace. The Rapture is a belief among many evangelical Christians that before the end of the world Jesus will return to take true believers to heaven, leaving nonbelievers behind to face tribulation and suffering on Earth. The concept draws on passages from the New Testament, which describe followers being “caught up” to meet Christ in the air. While influential in evangelical culture, the Rapture is not embraced by all Christian denominations, with many regarding it as a modern interpretation rather than a central doctrine.

“So everybody on TikTok started spreading the word that the rapture was coming yesterday,” Shepherd said. “This one I didn’t fall for the okeydoke because I have been through this before.”

Shepherd was a prominent figure on television and in comedy for years, with early work including appearances on The View and a role on 30 Rock. The episode of her show in which she recounts these events has drawn attention for its candid look at how personal faith intersects with everyday life and legal consequences.