Wendy Williams’ guardian has revealed unsettling information regarding the former talk show host’s health.
In a court petition acquired by The Post on November 12, counsel for Williams’ guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, indicated that the 60-year-old is experiencing substantial cognitive decline. They classified Williams as “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and incapacitated” as a result of her chronic dementia struggles.
Morrissey is also involved in a legal fight with Lifetime for the documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, which debuted in February.
The complaint alleges that A&E Television Networks and executive producer Mark Ford “cruelly took advantage of [Williams’] cognitive and physical decline by creating and publishing a documentary at a time when [Williams] was highly vulnerable and incapable of consenting to be filmed.”
In 2023, Williams was diagnosed with primary aggressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, the same illnesses that Bruce Willis is currently suffering from. Williams was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and FTD in 2023, which highlighted the impact on her communicative abilities.
FTD is distinguished by the shrinkage of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which affects personality, conduct, and language.
Unlike other types of dementia, FTD strikes at a younger age, usually between 40 and 65.
Since May 2022, she has been under court-ordered guardianship, which handles her health and finances after her bank, Wells Fargo, claimed she was “incapacitated.”
Morrissey’s legal team has asked that some aspects of the case involving Williams’ “health, familial relationships, and finances” be suppressed to protect her privacy.
“We respectfully request that the Court grant Plaintiff’s motion for limited redactions to protect non-public information from the Guardianship Proceeding that has been placed under seal by the court overseeing that proceeding,” per the papers.
The latest legal fight occurred after Williams’ guardian attempted to prevent Lifetime from airing its documentary earlier this year. Morrissey’s team sought a restraining order against the network on February 20, just a few days before its release. The judge, however, refused the request, stating that delaying the documentary would violate the First Amendment as an “impermissible prior restraint on speech.”
On September 16, 2024, Morrissey filed an updated case against A&E Television Networks, Entertainment One Reality Productions, Lifetime Entertainment Services, Creature Films, and filmmaker Mark Ford. The matter has since been brought to federal court, where the defendants have filed countersuits against Morrissey.
Wendy Williams was a popular media personality and former talk show presenter. She is well-known for her frank and frequently contentious manner. Williams rose to prominence with The Wendy Williams Show, which ran from 2008 until 2022 and established her as a cultural icon. However, her career took a turn due to escalating health difficulties, such as lymphedema and Graves’ disease.
