Despite being a widely popular queen of daytime TV, talk show host and former Masked Singer contestant Wendy Williams went into an unfortunate spiral involving health concerns, rehab for addictions, financial problams, and a hiatus from her eponymous series. Things became more complicated in the aftermath, with Williams’ talk show ending without her returning, and rumors about a career resurgence were hindered by a dementia diagnosis in early 2024 ahead of the docuseries Where Is Wendy Williams?
Wendy Williams' Legal Guardian Provides Health Update With Lawsuit Filing
After months of relative silence that followed the initial flurry of reports and family member reactions to the somewhat unfinished TV project, Wendy Williams’ court-appointed guardians Sabrina E. Morrissey filed new court documents that sadly aren’t so positive regarding her current state of health. According to paperwork that requested producers of the docuseries edit out each moment with non-public details mentioned, Morrissey says:
[She's become] cognitively impaired, permanently disabled and legally incapacitated.
Wendy Williams was first given a court-ordered guardianship back in April 2022, at a point when her publicized health concerns included lymphedema and Graves' disease, as well as alcohol abuse that reportedly became more of an issue following her divorce from Kevin Hunter in 2019. She was temporarily put into a care facility and later released, though several of her family members claim they've been unable to contact her under Morrissey's care.
Morrissey first hit A&E with a lawsuit in February 2024 on the same day her medical team released the dementia diagosis (which she'd received in 2023). At the time, the goal was to prevent the network from airing Where Is Wendy Williams? But that attempt was denied by an appeals court, and A&E aired it as planned.
Why Is A&E Countersuing?
A&E execs did not just sit back and let Morrissey's lawsuit drive them into hiding. Instead, the company's legal team is fighting back against the legal guardian's initial suit with the claims that she was infringing, or attempting to, on the org's First Amendment rights. With the proof being the first lawsuit that tried to block the docuseries from airing.
One of the arguments here has A&E blaming Morrissey for forcing its execs to focus their efforts on defending the company in court against what they feel are bunk accusations. To that end, A&E's legal docs point out that documentaries focusing on subjects with dementia aren't illegal to film, and that her signing the talent agreement makes that point moot anyway.
Pointing the finger of blame back at Sabrina E. Morrissey, the A&E paperwork states:
[Sabrina is attempting to deny Wendy] one of her last chances to exercise her autonomy and honestly reach her fans in exactly the frank and unfiltered manner that was the hallmark of her career.
Wendy Williams and others reportedly weren't too happy with the final cut of the docuseries showing her out of sorts and not always mentally present, among other things. And it's not likely that she would have returned (or will return) to film more of the docuseries, or even if she'd be able to at this point. But until we're allowed to hear it straight from her, it's unclear where things truly stand.
