Wendy Williams, the previous discuss present host recognized for her catch phrase “The way you doin’?” and being a staple on New York radio, has been underneath a court-ordered guardianship since 2022. Since then, particulars of her private life have turn out to be web fodder and raised discussions about her well being and household.
This week, Ms. Williams’s court-appointed authorized guardian prompt she ought to bear a brand new medical analysis as a result of Ms. Williams had publicly questioned a analysis of frontotemporal dementia and aphasia. Ms. Williams, who resides in a New York care facility, stated in a latest phone interview on “The Breakfast Membership” that she was “not cognitively impaired.”
Ms. Williams’s internal circle participated in a four-part documentary about her life final yr and have mounted a marketing campaign to get her out of the state’s care.
Whereas some particulars across the guardianship, which oversees Ms. Williams’s private and monetary affairs, are sealed by courtroom order, others have been shared with the general public.
Here’s what we all know.
When did Wendy Williams enter a guardianship?
In 2022, a yr after Ms. Williams final filmed her discuss present, a courtroom appointed a authorized guardian to supervise her private and monetary affairs. The appointment got here after Wells Fargo, which was concerned in her funds, had “documented a sample of surprising and disturbing occasions” associated to her welfare and funds, in response to courtroom paperwork.
Who’s Ms. Williams’s guardian?
Sabrina E. Morrissey is Ms. Williams’s court-appointed authorized guardian, though her particular powers are usually not clear as a result of a courtroom sealed most of the associated filings.
Alex Finnie, Ms. Williams’s niece, stated in an interview on “The View” in February 2024 that the household was initially concerned in conversations in regards to the guardianship and was later shut out.
Ms. Morrissey’s attorneys stated in a authorized grievance that Ms. Williams’s dementia had triggered her to “turn out to be cognitively impaired, completely disabled, and legally incapacitated.”
Ms. Williams has additionally brazenly mentioned her points with Graves’s illness, an immune system dysfunction, and lymphedema.
What did the documentary present?
The documentary that aired on Lifetime, “The place Is Wendy Williams?,” gave a glimpse into Ms. Williams’s life and struggles, exhibiting her confused and sometimes disoriented. One of many extra critical revelations that emerged was her use of alcohol.
Ms. Williams’s household and pals stated she started ingesting closely after tabloids reported that her husband on the time, Kevin Hunter, had been dishonest on her. She entered rehab in 2019 and later that yr filed for divorce.
Firstly of the documentary, it was clear that Ms. Williams’s ingesting had pushed a wedge between her and her son, Kevin Hunter Jr., who stated that medical doctors identified her with alcohol-induced dementia in 2021.
What was the guardian’s response to the documentary?
Ms. Morrissey, who tried to dam the documentary from airing however failed, has been engaged in a authorized dispute with A&E Tv Networks, which owns Lifetime. She claims in courtroom paperwork that the community was “desperate to sensationalize and revenue from” Ms. Williams’s cognitive and bodily decline and took benefit of her “within the cruelest, most obscene manner potential for their very own monetary acquire, in a fashion that really shocks the conscience.”
The documentary was filmed with no legitimate contract, Ms. Morrissey says. It was launched with out her consent and Ms. Williams was paid the “paltry sum” of $82,000.
What has Ms. Williams stated about her case?
In her emotional interview on “The Breakfast Membership,” Ms. Williams likened her dwelling situations to these of a jail, describing a easy each day routine that features three meals in her mattress. “I watch TV, I take heed to radio, I have a look at the window, I discuss on the telephone,” Ms. Williams stated. She stated she didn’t have entry to a laptop computer or an iPad, and prompt that her telephone capabilities have been restricted.
Ms. Williams, who stated she had spent a number of time in isolation on the facility, additionally lamented that her private belongings have been in storage.
Will there be a brand new medical analysis?
By way of her lawyer from the case towards A&E, Ms. Morrissey issued a letter to the courtroom on Wednesday suggesting that Ms. Williams bear a brand new medical analysis after she made public statements disagreeing along with her analysis and indicated she didn’t need to proceed authorized motion towards the community.
The analysis would contain a “complete neurological and psychological testing by a specialist within the discipline,” the letter stated. “The problem of whether or not W.W.H. has the capability to evaluate what’s in her personal finest pursuits deserves renewed cautious consideration by certified consultants, and shouldn’t be left to careless hypothesis in tabloids, radio or on the web.”