Wendy Williams wants to be freed from the guardianship she’s been under since 2022.
The former talk show host, 60, called into The Breakfast Club radio show on Jan. 16 to talk about the “prison” she said she’s been living in. Williams, who was joined by niece Alex Finnie on the call, cried at times and insisted that she’s “not cognitively impaired.”
A GoFundMe has been started to help #FreeWendy — who was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, according to her guardian — get out of the guardianship. At press time, it had $4,000 of its $50,000 goal.
“I am not cognitively impaired,” Williams clearly and succinctly told hosts Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy and guest host Loren LoRosa. “But I feel like I am in prison.”
Finnie said Williams is “being held” in what she described as a “luxury prison” in New York City. It’s a small apartment with a bed, chair, TV, bathroom and one window. She’s not allowed to go out or see people. All of her possessions, on display in the controversial Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, are in storage after her apartment was sold at a loss.
“I’m definitely isolated,” said Williams, who no longer has her cats. “I keep the door closed; I watch TV, listen to the radio and look out the window. Sit here as my life goes by.” She said the facility where she is living otherwise houses “people [who] are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s.”
Williams said she’s given pills daily at the facility and she’s not sure what they’re for. She’s also locked inside and can’t leave without the door being unlocked for her. She has spent her past three birthdays alone, she said.
The TV personality claims her guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, who is suing A&E and Lifetime alleging that they “exploited” Williams by making the docuseries, has complete control over her finances and where she’s living. Williams — who once earned approximately $15 million a year — claims she has $15 to her name and fears retaliation for speaking out in this interview.
Morrissey has not yet responded to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment.
Williams was asked about the docuseries, which she said she watched alongside Morrissey, including A&E’s claim in its legal response to Morrissey’s lawsuit that accused the guardian of “misusing her position” and failing Williams.
“What do I think about being abused?” Williams asked. “Listen, this system is broken. This system that I’m in, you know, this system has falsified a lot.”
Williams was asked about the claims that she’s cognitively impaired, due to alcohol abuse, and incapacitated.
“Do I seem that way?” she shot back.
Charlamagne replied, “You’ve been calling me five times a day for the last two weeks, no. You don’t seem that way.” Finnie said that in talking to and seeing her aunt, she does not match the definition of an incapacitated person.
Finnie called for Morrissey to treat Williams “with dignity” and “give her the freedoms that she deserves.” Part of that is that Williams wants to live in Miami with her family, instead of being isolated in NYC. Williams talked about recently being able to visit for her son Kevin Hunter Jr.’s college graduation.
Williams broke down in tears talking about how her father turns 94 next week and she’s not sure if she’s allowed to visit him. She can’t even shop for a gift for him.
“[Morrissey], who’s holding me hostage, I’m not sure she’s going to let me,” Williams said. “My life is f***ed up.”
Williams also cried over potential fallout from her interview. She worried about her phone being taken from her (“What if they take my phone? I won’t be able to talk to anybody,” she said, weeping ) while Finnie said she fears Morrissey will move Williams to a new location and the family won’t be able to contact her, which happened last year.
The GoFundMe, started by Friends of the Williams Family, is to “assist Wendy Williams’ family in expediting her return to her rightful home in Florida. For far too long, Wendy has faced the challenges of being unjustly placed under guardianship and labeled as incapacitated, despite her strong will and determination to live her life independently,” according to the description.
Williams was placed in a guardianship in May 2022 after her Wells Fargo wealth manager deemed her an “incapacitated person.” She’s been fighting it ever since.
Williams hosted her talk show from 2008 to 2021. The show ended in June 2022, amid the guardianship. Williams had sat out the last season of the show due to health problems. She vowed a return to TV once the guardianship was lifted and behind her.
