In the midst of other daytime talk shows facing down controversy, The Wendy Williams Show remains at a standstill of sorts. Its thirteenth season premiere in 2021 was initially delayed due to the namesake contracting COVID-19 – but that was nearly four months ago. Since then, guest hosts have been filling in for Williams, including the likes of Leah Remini, Whitney Cummings, Bill Bellamy and so on. However, Williams’ continued absence has got the rumor mill swirling again about how many more episodes she'll be missing from and why. The star’s representative is speaking out now in response to all the speculation.
In January, several reports indicated that Wendy Williams, who suffers from Graves' disease and a thyroid condition as well, hasn't fully recovered from her illness last year. It has even been suggested that her health has deteriorated so much that she can no longer dress herself or keep up with conversations like she used to. As a result, there is talk that she might never return to her popular show or the iconic purple chair with a mug in hand. On that note, her rep Howard Bragman made a firm statement, saying to Page Six:
The health issues are inaccurate and any speculation about her not returning to the show is just that: speculation.
To be fair, Wendy Williams has taken a few breaks from her show in recent years, citing health concerns. Actor Jerry O’Connell took over for her in 2018 for those reasons, as well as various others jumping for two months in 2019. Following the time of the latter, Williams would publicly share her struggles with a cocaine addiction and living in a sober house, prompting her to later take another hiatus.
Whatever the case may be now, Wendy Williams’ 21-year-old son posted an update on her in early January that was promising for viewers. The host was seen eating a salad and a smoothie, looking relatively healthy, all things considered. So with the help of a son taking care of his mom and PR tamping down rumors, The Wendy Williams Show could very well return to normalcy sooner than people expect in 2022.
In the meantime, though, more guest hosts are stepping to the plate once again for upcoming episodes in the month of February through March 4. The list of temps include Remy Ma, Sherri Shepherd, Fat Joe, Michael Rapaport, Terrence J and Bevy Smith. The end of season for the show is usually ahead of the summer, which means that there is still plenty of time for the TV personality to return in full capacity – if she is hoping to not miss an entire cycle of scurrilous gossip.
We'll just have to wait and see how things shake out in the months to come. In the meantime, you can watch The Wendy Williams Show weekdays in syndication.
