People Magazine’s cover story this week is all about Wendy Williams and what the hell happened to her. Throughout 2019-2021, Wendy still had her very popular talk show, although the cracks were visible to everyone – she was drunk on air, her marriage (to a manipulative cheater) was falling apart, her health fell off a cliff and on and on. In 2021-22, she lost her talk show and by that point, she had been in and out of rehabs and sober houses for a while. Then she plotted a comeback with a podcast and some kind of docuseries about her comeback. The documentarians ended up getting a very different story. So where is Wendy now? That’s what a new Lifetime documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams?, tries to answer.
It’s been two and a half years since Wendy Williams asked her final “How you doin’?” on TV, and since then, the larger-than-life personality has remained mostly quiet as rumors have swirled about her well-being. Now the former Wendy Williams Show host’s family is speaking out for the first time in this week’s PEOPLE cover story about what went down during this dark period, as Williams’ life devolved into the exact kind of drama she once would have gossiped about during her Hot Topics segment.
“We’ve all seen the images over the last few months — and, really, few years — of what has seemed like a spiral for my aunt,” says Williams’ niece Alex Finnie, who also appears in the new Lifetime documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams?, premiering Feb. 24. “It was shocking and heartbreaking to see her in this state.”
When the Lifetime documentary crew began filming in August 2022, it set out to follow Williams’ comeback as she prepared to launch a new podcast. The film quickly evolved into something entirely different, as the crew captured Williams (who served as an executive producer on the project) in the throes of alcohol addiction and struggles with health issues including Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that can cause bulging eyes, and lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling in her feet.
A particularly gut-wrenching scene shows Williams — who turns 60 in July — asking her driver to take her past the former Wendy Williams Show studio, forgetting that he had done so only moments earlier.
“I don’t know what the hell is going on,” her driver says in the documentary. “I think she’s losing memory. She doesn’t know who I am sometimes.”
The documentary crew stopped filming Williams in April 2023. That month, she entered a facility to treat “cognitive issues,” her manager and jeweler Will Selby says in the film. Her son reveals in the documentary that doctors have connected these issues to alcohol use. Williams remains in the facility to this day, and her family says a court-appointed legal guardian is the only person who has unfettered access to her. Her family says they don’t know where she is and cannot call her themselves, but she can call them.
“The people who love her cannot see her,” says Wendy’s sister and Alex’s mom Wanda, 65. “I think the big [question] is: How the hell did we get here?”
People goes through the timeline, with Wendy’s disappearance from her show in 2021 and then Wells Fargo freezing her bank accounts, claiming that she was of “unsound mind.” There were rumors about her ex-husband Kevin Hunter and their son Kevin Jr. Wendy was also appointed a financial guardian but Wendy claims that her guardian stole money from her. I remember when the Wells Fargo thing happened and there were A LOT of conversation about what led to that and how a bank could do that to someone as high-profile as Wendy. The Lifetime documentary should be a tragic must-watch because I’m still not exactly clear what the f–k really happened. I still believe her ex had a big part in it though.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of People.
-
- Wendy Williams attends Apple’s “The Morning Show” Global Premiere Event on October 28, 2019 at David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center Plaza in New York, New York, USA. photo by Robin Platzer/ Twin Images/ Avalon,Image: 540365464, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robin Platzer/Twin Images / Twin Images / Avalon
-
- Wendy Williams attends Apple’s “The Morning Show” Global Premiere Event on October 28, 2019 at David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Center Plaza in New York, New York, USA. photo by Robin Platzer/ Twin Images/ Avalon,Image: 540365499, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Robin Platzer/Twin Images / Twin Images / Avalon
If she was having cognitive issues, how did she give consent to be filmed like this? Seems like she is still being taken advantage of.
She is essentially in a conservatorship. She doesn’t have to consent to anything. Her guardian does. Which makes this even more gross.
I just read on B. Scott that she has been diagnosed with early onset frontal lobe dementia, the same as Bruce Willis. It explains so much.
My mom had vascular dementia. I didn’t know, and neither did she, but the first thing she asked of me was for me to have power of attorney for her affairs when she realized that she was forgetting big things. She trusted me. Wendy Williams was surrounded by people she didn’t trust, so business entities took over her life.
Why are American courts continuously binding these vulnerable people in iron clad conservatorships? These people are continuously being stolen from and abused by the conservators that are supposed to be helping and protecting them but the courts could care less; they continue to do the same things that have failed time and again, expecting different results every single time!!! This is so freakin’ frustrating!!! I mean, I am no fan of Wendy, due to her well documented history of meanness and brutality she vetted out to others; I can’t even fathom how she ever claimed to have a heart in that chest of hers. But, even with all that I still don’t want her to be abused while she is certainly not of sound mind. Stealing from her and abusing her etc, while she is supposedly being protected by the justice system is just despicable.
My understanding is that Wendy’s arrangement is purely a financial guardianship. It doesn’t cover making any physical decisions. That must be family making those decisions. Wells Fargo, who got the financial control over Wendy, has always been kind of problematic from my viewpoint.
@equality I believe you’re incorrect about the conservator making her healthcare decisions. Other, more in-depth articles have reported that this conservator also is making those decisions, which is consistent with the statements that only the conservator is allowed to reach out to her without her, supposedly, reaching out first.
https://keystone-law.com/wells-fargo-wendy-williams
@equality: I note that that link, though a decent general overview of financial conservatorships, does not speak to the health care decisions issue, is from a law firm unaffiliated with Williams’ case, and mentions repeatedly that the court documents are sealed. Specifically, there is the following disclaimer: “It’s important to note that the duties of a financial guardian can vary depending on the specific powers that have been granted to them by the New York courts.” Without knowing what powers the judge granted, we don’t know what powers this conservator has. All we know is that it has been reported that only the conservator can reach Wendy unfettered, and that the conservator has 100% control over her money, which may, in the end, amount to almost the same thing.
Other sources say the financial conservator may be involved with the decisions, but probably don’t have sole power over medical, etc. Her manager and family members are appearing in the documentary, so must have had something to do with its production. If they were concerned with this exploitation of her, getting it legally blocked or refusing to contribute would have been a better move. Hard to know which side to believe. Her family, like Britney’s may have been at least part of the problem with being exploited.
If she has been a really heavy drinker it could be WKS (it’s also called wet brain but I hate that term) it’s caused by a lack of b 1 vitamin which heavy drinkers are prone to. Obviously I don’t know if this is true for her. Whatever is happening she cannot consent to be filmed in this state
When the bank first froze her accounts, there were rumors from fans that her ex husband was spending her money, taking advantage of her condition. He cheated on her and basically he was taking care of his new girlfriend and baby with Wendy’s money. Also, people saw him and his son with Wendy fighting somewhere public. It felt like the minute she got rid of her cheating husband, everything came down. She looked ok first, but the stress got to her. I remember on one of the last shows, she was crying that she had no right to tell public to mind their business and not gossip about her life, because she was gossiping about other people’s lives all of her career.
Wendy is a very cruel human being who surrounded herself with bad people and delighted in others misery. Life is what you make iit .
Hard agree. Karma.
But its not really “karma” when she is most certainly dealing with mental illness. If Wendy can’t understand what is being done to her or the supposed karma that’s at her door, how is that a good thing?
Yeah. She was a horribly cruel person even when she was sober.
One thing I will add here is that alcohol and drug addiction is often covering for untreated mental illness. People feel bad and look for something to feel good. So outsiders see the intoxicants as the issue, not the underlying causes.
You see it generationally. Grandparents alcoholics, parents just terrible people, kids have gotten diagnosed with what grandparents undoubtedly also had and doing their best to break the cycle.
One thing about still being at the mental institution nearly a year later. The major mental hospital near me basically built a small housing development/assisted living on the grounds for people who didn’t need hospitalization, but also shouldn’t really live alone.
Realized I should also mention that it isn’t surprising that all of this went down in her early to mid 50s. Estrogen can is protective of mental health. The drop in estrogen during menopause can increase symptoms from ADHD, depression, anxiety, bipolar, and so much else. If you are taking medication for any mental health issues, be sure to consider your hormones as you get to your menopausal/perimenopausal years. You may need to make adjustments.
Yeah, I was going to say I worked in the building on Park Ave where WBLS has their studios, and she was the meanest, most unkind person when you’d cross paths with her. Total biatch with delusions of grandeur. And all the celeb gossip from that period (mid to late 2000s) said as much.
Ugh–ever since her WBLS days, she’s been hateful. Getting into gossip and becoming a Queen of Dirt _really_ ramped up her awfulness. Never liked her; dern sure never rooted for her. But I wouldn’t wish dementia and being at the mercy of greedy relatives/guardians on anyone. 😞😞
Eeee, I’m not super comfortable with the idea of being “yay karma” at a 50-something being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
^^ this
Honest question. Wendy Williams was in the celebrity gossip business. Sometimes people in that business say or write negative things about celebrities. What makes Wendy Williams “cruel” or “mean” compared to other people in the celebrity gossip business?
Her biggest crime was outing folks who were not ready to come out.
I’ll try to answer as best as I can. There are some celebrity gossip sites/people that are especially cruel. Yes Wendy was one of them. Remember Perez Hilton and how vicious he was? Outing people before they are ready (I remember all his posts about Wentworth Miller) or calling Jennifer Aniston Maniston or The Chin. He would make fun of people’s looks things that are beyond their control and without provocation. He would call pregnant women Sperminated and the site was just rife with misogyny and a general hatred for women. There’s another blogger who went after a Black woman comedian basically comparing her to a ape. The posts were so racist.
Wendy can be quite cruel and she can be very cruel to Black people. TMZ also has sexist, racist undertones. One of the things I love about Celebitchy and most of the posters there – we tend to attack people who lack character, are mean spirited, racist, etc. You have to give us a reason to come at you. We normally don’t lead with looks – but PW is fair game now cause how he treated his brother and SIL and how he is just in general. Justin Timberlake is fair game. You have to show us a lack of character.
I believe (at least it’s true in my case anyway) had Kate greeted Meghan with open arms – had she been a friend and someone who stands up for their friends, instead of being a racist and throwing her SIL under the bus constantly, we’d be much kinder to her on this site. I probably still wouldn’t like her fashion, but would I dislike her? I doubt it. I am not a big fan of making fun of people’s looks, but my exception is, when their looks reflect their souls. Like the outside matches the inside (see Prince William, Justin Timberlake, Danny Masterson, and so on).
To add to the excellent response from SIDE EYE, Williams callously shared on the air that Method Man’s wife had cancer – something they’d kept private and hadn’t even shared with many family members. There’s a video of him addressing how wrong it was for her to do that, about the unnecessary pain Williams caused his wife during an already difficult time.
She is a despicable human being.
Thank you @Jen! I have so many horrible incidents in my head and I had completely forgotten that one. I remember it now! Thank you for sharing this.
OMFG that is AWFUL.
After reading this I have a good idea of the bad behavior William and Perez Hilton engaged in but not Wendy Williams? I’m not arguing with anyone, just trying to understand.
She delighted in trying to smear gay people and went out of her way to out people. She is a nasty piece or work.
Thank you to everyone who answered my question above!
Thanks to Side Eye. Enis. Kitten, Jen and Mel for your thoughts!
How is Wendy still executive producer of a documentary she didn’t set out to make? Did she sign off it going to air?
I am not a fan. That having been said, I think she is a classic example of what the wrong man can do to a person. It should literally be a college course for young women with her as one of the numerous examples. Ladies guard your assets no matter what. Guard your spirit. Have clear boundaries and don’t let anyone cross them. Careful who you have children with. The wrong man takes decades to recover from especially financially.
Completely agree, SIde Eye – cases like hers (despite how I feel about her personally) should be ‘required reading’ for all young women as part of financial education. SUCH a danger in the world of losing your personal agency and financial independence because you trust the wrong people.
🎯🎯🎯
ITA, Side Eye. And girls should be taught to ask themselves early on how much do they _really_ need to be married/coupled with kids? Is it something they really want–or do they feel pressured into it because a woman “isn’t complete or happy” without a man and kids? There are a lot of celebrities alone who apparently are terrified of their own company and have to have a partner practically 24/7. One shouldn’t have to marry to learn marriage isn’t their thing. Knowing yourself first would save a lot of misery.
After my divorce, my mom started asking when I’d find a nice young man to marry, so I could be happy. I had to remind her that I HAD been married, and most certainly was NOT happy, hence the divorce. My focus at the time was taking care of my kids, and healing myself. Sometimes you are just living a better life not being married, and that’s OK too.
I’m sorry, did that say “her manager and JEWELER?” That’s… a weird combo. And it makes me wonder how legit the people handling her business are.
Same!
That jumped out at me, too! I can believe that the guardianship is sketchy, that Wendy is not capable of making her own decisions currently AND that her business has been quite messy for some time.
Is he using her money to what, buy diamonds & such for himself? Is it money laundering? Gambling?
Ok, I Googled him and found out that he used to be Wendy’s jeweler somehow, he became her manager in 2022.
He seems to be the one behind the documentary and podcast.
I would like to join the Wendy bashing “karma” posts, but honestly, I think when you get to a certain age, you reflect a little more kindly. We’ve all made mistakes, she’s clearly made plenty. Anyone she’s maligned has every right to forget she existed and perhaps privately smirk at her current misfortune. I really don’t think she has it in her at this point to reflect to own her own glaring foibles that caused the self destruct mode. I do sort of feel pity for her, but that’s not really the right word. She is living in the hell she created, and that has got to be terrifying.
Please do not minimize the terrible things Wendy did as a “mistake” or try to downplay it by saying we all make mistakes. What Wendy did for years was not a “mistake.” it was intentional and something she took great joy in tearing down other people at their lowest and outing things that was not her business to do.
I respect your opinion, and you’re correct, I’m reading that she said a lot of terrible things and had no right to “out” people – She was also paid to do just that, so there is a long train of terrible people making money off of her “talk show” – Personally, I don’t watch any garbage talk or reality shows (most “reality” are all garbage) , not my thing. But since they are all over the internet, knowing about their existence is unavoidable. I absolutely have a huge problem with any of that being touted as entertainment. The idea her show was aired for so many years if she was that appalling, says more about the people who watched/listened to it .
It says something about the people who watched; I don’t know that it says MORE. It also says something about the advertisers who sponsored the show, those who aired it, etc. Just because people watch something doesn’t mean she had to provide it; that was her personal choice to own.
Yes, her fans are just as bad as her. I tried watching it back when it first aired in 2008 to support a black woman, and I lasted a week and a half. It was bad then and only seemed to have gotten worse. I have no idea how it lasts for 13/14 years, same with the Chelsea Handler show and Preze Hilton blog.
One thing I noticed about Weny Williams. Chelsea Handler and Preze Hilton. They were ok to attack, out, and bully others, but when the tables were turned, it was a problem. They would all cry about how people can be cruel, but turn arend an do the exact same thing to others.
Wendy Williams consciously and deliberately, on numerous occasions, engaged in emotional, verbal and cyber abuse and bullying. These were choices she made and consciously must I add. Those behaviors can’t and shouldn’t be minimized and written off as “mistakes”. This is like writing off Piers Morgan, Perez Hilton, Dan Wotton et al’s abusive and bullying behaviors as “mistakes” which they aren’t.
I know people are bashing conservatorships — and for good reason, i.e. Britney Spears — but for my aunt it was essential as both her neighbors and my family members were trying to take advantage of her cognitive decline and the $$$ she had. I was living out of the country then and would have been expensive to fly back in, but was about to do it to set up a conservatorship through an attorney. My mom (her sister) went ahead and did it on her own to protect her sister. My mom never went against her husband (my dad, who wanted to control it), etc., but for once she did it. I was proud of her. And glad she did it as there were some shenanigans going on (like a cleared-out safe deposit box) before it was set in place. We liked the conservator and she did a great job.
I agree. Sometimes it is necessary to keep people safe if they have severe cognitive issues and are easily taken advantage of. Wendy Williams is struggling, but she is safe, and her money isn’t going to her ex-husband anymore. It is, I imagine, going to her care. But it is sad that she is not surrounded by her family. They should be able to visit and take care of her emotionally. But a third-party conservator can make sure that her money goes to her medical care and not Kevin’s gifts to his paramour.
Hard for me to have sympathy for her. S others have noted, she was just mean to people. I seem to remember she made nasty comments about Meghan saying Meghan had weaseled her way into the royal family. And Wendy was low class in many ways. Karma.
This is so sad. It seems like the slimey ex husband was both the one holding her together and the cause of her downfall. I wonder if Wendy had not felt public pressure to dump Kevin would she be in a better spot now. Even after the Daily Mail made his affair public Wendy was still trying to stay in the marriage. I think him having a baby on the side made it harder for her to stay and be a credible tell it like it is gossip host. I’ve heard stories that Wendy fell on and off the wagon in regards to alcohol over the years, so maybe this was all inevitable anyway. It’s just such a fast flame out.
Article on NBCnews I just read says last year she was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Basically the same thing Bruce Willis has. And that she is being cared for by a team she chose. She recently decided to share the medical diagnosis. Hopefully she picked safe people. But she won’t be easy to take care of.
She’s been diagnosed with aphasia, which affects language and communication abilities, and frontotemporal dementia (same as Bruce Willis). I never watched her shows and know nothing of her other than what I read here. She sounds like a hot mess, but to call it karma or that she somehow deserves this dreadful condition for her past behaviour is not right.
Thank you, I agree.
I agree. We should be kind. They don’t deserve it but we knowing better, have to be kind.
Honestly it sounds like after everything she put others through and the alarming rate at which she has deteriorated, she’s better off in care where she cannot hurt others or herself.