Wendy Williams is speaking out against the conservatorship she has been under since 2012.
The media personality called into “The Breakfast Club” Thursday morning to dispute claims she had been diagnosed with dementia and aphasia.
“I am not cognitively impaired, you know what I’m saying?” said Williams. “But I feel like I’m in prison,” she said of the care facility where she has been living. “I’m in this place where the people are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s … There’s something wrong with these people here on this floor.”
Williams, 60, of Asbury Park, is a former radio DJ at stations such as Hot 97 and WBL. She hosted “The Wendy Williams Show” from 2008 to 2021 and stepped down in 2022 due to medical issues. Williams had been previously open about her battles with battles with lymphedema and Graves’ disease. The show aired its final episode in June 2022.
In 2023, Williams’s care team released a statement claiming Willams had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. Shortly after, Lifetime aired a two-part documentary, “Where Is Wendy Williams?” to which her guardian, Sabrina E. Morrissey, filed suit to prevent the release. A&E and Lifetime hit back with a countersuit alleging Morrisey was interested in impeding the release to salvage her reputation.
Williams’ niece, Alex, spoke to “The Breakfast Club” in support of her aunt. She noted that while Williams could call her loved ones from the care facility, they could not contact her because there was no access to the internet via devices.
Williams has also spent her last three birthdays alone, as her niece attributes these parameters to “emotional abuse.”
“And that’s why we say she’s in a luxury prison because she is being held and she is being punished for whatever reason that other people are coming up with as to why she has to be kept in this position,” said Williams' speaking about her aunt.
Related coverage:
- Popular rapper retires from music, will ‘never sing again’ after grandmother’s death
- Polarizing rock star always ‘puts his foot in his mouth,’ iconic guitarist says
- Female singer performing with ‘90s rock legends claps back at ‘meaningless’ haters
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Murjani Rawls may be reached at mrawls@njadvancemedia.com
