Wendy Williams ‘permanently incapacitated’ by dementia, guardian claims
Williams has been under a court-appointed guardianship since May 2022 after her bank, Wells Fargo, claimed she was “incapacitated.”
Wendy Williams' health appears to be rapidly deteriorating, with her court-appointed guardian claiming that the former TV host is now "permanently incapacitated" due to her diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
In a legal filing made earlier this month, viewed by multiple sources, attorneys for Williams' guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, stated that the 60-year-old has become "cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and incapacitated" due to dementia.
Morrissey further argued that Williams lacked the capacity to consent to being filmed for the controversial Where is Wendy Williams? docuseries, which was released earlier this year. The docuseries, which delved into Williams' health struggles, life after The Wendy Williams Show, and her guardianship, has sparked an ongoing legal dispute with A&E Television Networks, Lifetime Entertainment, and other parties involved.
“This case arises from the brutally calculated, deliberate actions of powerful and opportunistic media companies working with a producer to knowingly exploit [Williams],” the legal documents state, referencing her diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia. "FTD is a progressive disease, meaning there is no cure and the symptoms only worsen over time."
The filing alleges that the defendants "cruelly took advantage" of Williams' cognitive and physical decline by producing and releasing a documentary when she was highly vulnerable and clearly incapable of consenting to being filmed.
Lifetime has not publicly responded to the legal filing.
Williams has been under a court-appointed guardianship since May 2022, after her bank, Wells Fargo, raised concerns about her being "incapacitated."
Earlier this year, when Williams and her team disclosed her diagnoses, they explained their decision to make the information public.
“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy," her team said in a February press release, “but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances.”
The statement continued, "Unfortunately, many individuals diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia face stigma and misunderstanding, especially when behavioral changes occur before a diagnosis is made."
The Where is Wendy Williams? docuseries, filmed between August 2022 and April 2023, was produced at a time when Williams' cognitive challenges had not been publicly known. Producers of the series claimed they were unaware of her health issues during filming.
In an interview with Today earlier this year, executive producers Mark Ford and Erica Hanson, who also served as the showrunner, acknowledged the ethical concerns raised by some of Williams' fans regarding the documentary.
“We shaped the documentary in a way that we felt could benefit Wendy, her family, and the world at large,” Ford said. “What started as a story about Wendy and her biography turned into something very different. It became more about what it’s like when your family member, whom you care about, is placed under legal guardianship and you no longer have access to her.”
While the series explores Williams' cultural impact as a talk show host, it also portrays her in several vulnerable situations. Her family members claim that they were cut off from communicating with Williams, who they say was only surrounded by those on her payroll. In the second episode, Williams' manager, Will Selby, is shown confronting her after finding an empty vodka bottle by her bed, suggesting issues with heavy drinking.
Throughout the documentary, Williams appears agitated, weepy, and confused.
The legal complaint seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the defendants and requests that the court issue an order to stop the airing of the documentary permanently. Morrissey’s filing also states that while Lifetime has "profited immensely" from the documentary, Williams received only “a paltry $82,000” for her involvement.
