Fans in doubt Where is Wendy Williams? got a sobering answer to that question in the first part of a two-night documentary series. As the former daytime TV star grapples with multiple health issues, including a recent diagnosis of aphasia and dementia, the Lifetime documentary reveals how she struggles with life off camera and leaves friends and family behind. It depicts her looking away.
Where is Wendy Williams? It sparked controversy even before Saturday night's premiere. Wendy Williams' parents have sued Lifetime's parent company, A&E Television Networks, sources said. people The sealed lawsuit “appears to have been filed in an attempt to ban the broadcast” of the documentary.
Officials said us sunMeanwhile, Williams said, “I didn't know I was filming a documentary,'' adding that if the former TV presenter had been of sound mind during filming, “I would never have taped her like that.'' I would never have allowed it,” he added.
And in the review: variety She said the documentary “feels invasive at best and predatory at worst” and is “an exploitative depiction of her cognitive decline and mental health.”
Nevertheless, Where is Wendy Williams? It made its scheduled debut on Lifetime on Saturday night, giving fans a glimpse into Williams' life these days. Here are my takeaways from the first night:
Wendy Williams says, “I don't have any money.''
the first part of Where is Wendy Williams? It delves into the economic conservatorship that a New York court imposed on Williams in 2022 after Wells Fargo Bank claimed he was a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”
Williams' son, Kevin Hunter Jr., said in the document that he never used her money without her consent. NJ.com.
Williams said she had “no idea” why she couldn't access her money now. “My money is still at Wells Fargo, so I'd like to talk to you for a second. If it happened to me, it might happen to you, too,” she says. “In the meantime, I don't have any money.”
She also took offense to questions about her son's upbringing. “I have so much money,” she says. “I want it for my son. When I die, everything will be his.”
Her son said she was rejecting people who tried to help her fight her addiction.
Hunter told the filmmakers how Williams' efforts to curb his drinking backfired. “Her addiction controlled her life so much that if anyone opposed her addiction or wanted to help her, she kicked them out,” he said in the document. It is stated in NJ.com.
Furthermore, he added: “As long as there are people around her who say yes, the same thing will always happen. Eventually, she will just find her excuse to be alone to get back to her sobriety.” –
In the doc, viewers witness Williams' manager Will Selby finding a bottle of booze in her New York apartment and throwing it away despite her protests.
“We all drink,” Williams said in an interview in the doc. “Why can't you?”
Her driver noticed her memory loss.
At one point in the first part, Williams asks his driver, Jamelle Nesfield, to take him to an old hospital. wendy Although she was in the studio, she could not be located and blamed both Nesfield and publicist Sean Zanotti. too fab. “I have no idea where we are,” she says.
“From the first time I met Wendy, she had such a beautiful personality. Now I don't know what the hell is going on,” Nesfield said in the doc. She said, “She doesn't know what she's going through, but whatever she's going through, it's getting very intense.”
Furthermore, he added: “I think she's lost her memory.” – For example, when you talk to her, she's just dazed. Sometimes she doesn't even understand who I am. I picked her up many times and she said, “Hey, who are you again?'' It's very difficult to deal with someone like that.
Her deejay said he noticed her becoming unresponsive in 2020.
DJ Boof, former deejay wendy williams showIn the first part of the documentary, she says she became Williams' “guardian” after she divorced her son's father, Kevin Hunter the Elder. people.
And it was DJ Boot who helped her tape. wendy Filmed remotely after the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. Meanwhile, he noticed that she “doesn't show her emotions” while filming a talk show.
“This isn’t because of the coronavirus,” he remembers thinking. “[Itâs the] Damage caused by long-term use of alcohol. I was able to know the lowest condition. ”
DJ Buch also said Williams was found unresponsive at home in May 2020 and required several blood transfusions after being hospitalized.
“She wasn't the same person anymore,” he says.