Wendy Williams has been left ‘permanently incapacitated’ by her dementia battle, her guardian has claimed in the latest legal wrangle over the star’s tell-all documentary.
Host Williams, 60, was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in May 2023. The diagnosis came one year after Wendy was placed under a court-ordered legal guardianship that oversees both her finances and health.
Where Is Wendy Williams?, which aired in February, was set to explore Williams’ life as she prepared to launch a new podcast – but featured shocking scenes showing the former host drinking vodka in bed and having panic attacks – leading to fan backlash against Lifetime.Â
Her guardian Sabrina Morrissey is now locked in a legal battle with the network over the documentary.
In a filing obtained by The US Sun, Morrissey’s attorneys called Williams ‘an acclaimed entertainer who, tragically, has been afflicted by early-onset dementia and, as a result, has become cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.’
‘In January 2022, after becoming aware of a pattern of disturbing events concerning [Wendy’s] welfare and finances, Wells Fargo took the highly unusual step of initiating a guardianship proceeding on its own initiative in the Supreme Court of New York, New York County (the ‘Guardianship Proceeding’), to seek the court appointment of an independent guardian for [Wendy’s] financial affairs.
The filing further asks for parts of the case about Williams’ ‘health, familial relationships, and finances” to be redacted 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.
New York lawyer Morrissey was assigned as her guardian after Wells Fargo froze her accounts in 2022, as a result of her financial adviser at the time claiming that she was of ‘unsound mind.’
In March, it was reported that Wendy was allegedly paid $100,000 per episode for her involvement in the four-part docuseries titled Where Is Wendy Williams?
At the same time, it was revealed that Wendy’s guardian had filed a lawsuit against the parent company of Lifetime, A&E Television Networks with allegations of ‘blatant exploitation’ in ‘disgusting’ fashion.
The guardian, Sabrina, filed the lawsuit under temporary seal (which keeps details in the case protected from the public) last month, but the docs were unsealed and reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, revealing explosive accusations in the case.
‘This blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman with a serious medical condition who is beloved by millions within and outside of the African American community is disgusting, and it cannot be allowed,’ the legal team for Williams’ guardian told the court. (Daily Mail)
