We got Sherri out in NYC Thursday afternoon and wanted to get her take on Liam's bombshell revelation that he -- after learning his friend had been raped by a black man -- walked the streets for days with a baton looking to kill a black man to avenge the crime.

Liam tried his hand at damage control by saying he's learned a lot about racism and insisting he's not racist. He called his behavior horrible ... but, the damage was done.

Not helping Liam's cause? Michelle telling Vanity Fair there's no way Liam's racist because he made out with Viola Davis in "Widows." Michelle said, "His tongue was so far down [her] throat. You can't call him a racist ever. Racists don't make out with the race that they hate."