Wendy Williams compares conservatorship to 'prison' in rare interview

Wendy Williams is opening up about her current status, and she doesn’t sound happy.

The iconic TV talk show host has had fans worried since she ended her long-running syndicated talk show The Wendy Williams Show in 2021 and subsequently disappeared from the public eye. She was placed under a legal conservatorship by guardian Susan Morrissey in 2022, and last year it was made public that Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

But in a rare interview, Williams called into The Breakfast Club on Thursday to discuss her situation. She compared her conservatorship to living in “prison” and said her conditions are demeaning. While Morrissey has said that Williams is “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and legally incapacitated,” she denies this assessment.

“I am not cognitively impaired,” Williams said. “But I feel like I am in prison.”

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Williams was joined on the call by her niece, Alex Finnie, who explained that Williams’ current living quarters constitute “a bed, a chair, a TV, a bathroom, and she’s looking out one window.” Finnie calls it “a luxury prison.”

“She is not getting proper sunlight,” Finnie said. She added that there is an intense level of scrutiny and security for visitors like her, confirmed by one of The Breakfast Club cohosts who had also tried to visit Williams.

Although Williams is able to make calls to friends and family outside the facility, they are not allowed to call her, and she isn’t currently able to leave (which is why she called into The Breakfast Club instead of appearing in person). She expressed her worry about not knowing whether she’ll be able to see her father and celebrate his upcoming birthday in person.