For many who, like myself, have followed Wendy Williams’ career, the Lifetime documentary, Where is Wendy Williams?, was a difficult yet crucial watch. From her early days of dispensing unfiltered hot topics on New York radio stations like Hot 97 and 107.5 WBLS, Wendy has always been a figure who sparked conversation. Whether you loved her bold opinions or found them controversial, she undeniably held the attention of the streets. While celebrity gossip wasn’t always my focus, Wendy possessed a unique ability to make listeners feel like they were part of her inner circle.
When The Wendy Williams Show premiered in 2008, it felt like a natural progression. A local icon from the New York Tri-State area was taking her unapologetic personality to a national stage. Daytime television was about to experience a seismic shift.
My Encounter with Wendy Williams
My own path intersected with Wendy’s in 2010 when I had the privilege of interviewing her. The conversation spanned her thriving talk show, her impactful radio journey, and her groundbreaking induction into the Radio Hall of Fame as only the second Black woman to receive this honor. Our meeting took place at the NASDAQ Marketsite, where Wendy celebrated her show’s second anniversary by ringing the opening bell.
Alt text: A photo of Wendy Williams, a tall Black woman with blonde hair, standing next to the author, a shorter Black woman with dark hair, at the NASDAQ Marketsite in 2010. Wendy is wearing high heels and a dress, while the author is in business attire. Both are smiling at the camera.
The accompanying photo captures that moment. Wendy playfully suggested we stand for the picture, emphasizing “the hilarity of it all.” For context, I stand at 5 ft 2 and weigh just over 100 lbs. Wendy, towering over me in her signature six-inch heels, chuckled at the visual contrast. This was before lymphedema, a condition causing swelling in her feet, led her to forgo heels.
Describing Wendy, words like outspoken, witty, and personable come to mind. However, as a writer who rarely finds herself speechless, the Where is Wendy Williams? documentary left me with just one word: Disturbing. It felt deeply wrong that this intimate and vulnerable portrayal was made public.
Unveiling Wendy’s Private Battles
The four-part Lifetime documentary offered an uncomfortably close look into Wendy’s struggles with alcohol addiction, deteriorating health, and alarming cognitive decline.
The revelation that Wendy was rushed to the hospital four years prior, found unresponsive at home and requiring three life-saving blood transfusions, was shocking. Despite this near-death experience, the documentary opens with Wendy professing her love for vodka. Later, a heartbreaking scene shows her cursing at her manager when confronted about an empty vodka bottle discovered in her room.
Witnessing the physical toll of Graves’ disease, hyperthyroidism, and lymphedema on Wendy was equally distressing. In one scene, she tearfully describes feeling only “2%” of her swollen and discolored feet, stating, “This is lymphedema…Do you see what this looks like?”
The documentary is punctuated with unsettling moments. Perhaps one of the most jarring is when Wendy’s publicist inquires if she’d like to attend the Oscars. Wendy, a name synonymous with celebrity culture, responds with a strained and bewildered expression, simply asking, “What’s Oscar’s?”
The question “How is Wendy doing?” hangs heavy throughout the documentary. The answer, unequivocally, is: she is clearly unwell.
Diagnosis: Primary Progressive Aphasia and FTD
Just days before the documentary premiered, the public learned of Wendy’s diagnosis: primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Aphasia is a condition that impairs language and communication abilities, while FTD is a progressive brain disorder affecting behavior and cognitive functions. Wendy’s son disclosed in the documentary that her dementia is linked to excessive alcohol consumption.
Wendy has been candid about her past struggles with substance abuse. Several life events in recent years have undoubtedly compounded her challenges.
In 2019, her 20-year marriage dissolved amidst her husband’s infidelity and the birth of a child with his mistress. In the same year, Wendy bravely revealed on her show that she was residing in a sober living house. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic brought global disruption, coinciding with the loss of her mother, Shirley Williams. Two years later, The Wendy Williams Show was canceled after a successful 14-year run, with Wendy unable to host its final season due to health issues.
The documentary was purportedly intended to chronicle Wendy’s comeback as a podcast host. However, the final product veered drastically off course.
Producers have stated that had they been aware of Wendy’s diagnosis, they would not have proceeded with filming. This raises a critical question: how could those filming not recognize the signs of serious cognitive impairment and halt production?
Wendy has been under court-appointed guardianship since 2022, initiated after Wells Fargo raised concerns about financial exploitation. Despite her legal guardian’s attempt to block the documentary’s release, the court denied the motion. This begs the question: where was the guardian’s oversight during the filming process?
Adding to the complexity, Wendy and her family are listed as executive producers of the documentary. Why would her family endorse such a deeply personal and potentially damaging project?
Seeking answers to these questions led me down a disconcerting path into the complexities of the guardianship system, revealing a system riddled with flaws.
The Broken Guardianship System
Guardianship, also known as conservatorship in some states, is a legal mechanism intended to protect individuals deemed incapacitated, such as those with disabilities or the elderly. It’s estimated that 1.3 million adults in the U.S. are currently under guardianship, controlling approximately $50 billion in assets.
If there’s any silver lining to the Where is Wendy Williams? documentary, it’s its unintentional exposure of the profound failures within a system designed to safeguard vulnerable Americans.
Lack of Transparency
Guardianship proceedings are often shrouded in secrecy. Beyond the scarcity of publicly available data, guardianship laws vary significantly from state to state. In New York, adult guardianships fall under Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law.
Léonie Rosenstiel, author of Protecting Mama: Surviving the Legal Guardianship Swamp, has dedicated two decades to researching the systemic issues within guardianship. Rosenstiel’s own mother was placed under court-appointed guardianship after becoming incapacitated.
“One of the things that’s really painful for families, is they’re very often not given any explanation for what happened,” Rosenstiel explains. “It just happens. They’re in the dark and they can’t find out why because all the documents are sealed and secret.”
Rubber-Stamped Petitions
In many states, anyone—including government agencies, family members, or healthcare providers—can petition the court to appoint a guardian for someone alleged to be incapacitated.
Diane Dimond, an investigative journalist and author of We’re Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong, has spent eight years investigating guardianship cases. She highlights a critical flaw: petitions are often approved without adequate scrutiny.
“For a guardianship to start, someone has to initiate it, go to a lawyer and the lawyer draws up a petition for guardianship. And in that petition, they explain to the court why the targeted person needs protection,” Dimond states. “Judges keenly just rubber stamp those. Okay, good, fine, guardianship. Next case, please.”
Flawed Appointment Process
Dimond also points to serious issues with how guardians are selected.
According to Dimond, who has communicated with Wendy’s sister, Wanda Finnie, Wanda expressed willingness to serve as Wendy’s guardian and even prepared to take the required day-long New York course. Despite this, Wanda was not chosen. Courts frequently appoint professional guardians or agencies, who are often not family members.
“That’s what judges across the country are doing, they’re not picking the family member because then the money stays in the family,” Dimond contends. “They want to spread it around amongst their cronies.”
Potential for Abuse of Power
A 2023 hearing by the Senate Aging Committee underscored the grim realities of exploitation, abuse, neglect, and financial misconduct in some guardianship cases. While some guardians are undoubtedly well-intentioned and ethical, the immense power they wield creates opportunities for abuse.
“The guardian is not just in charge of the money, the guardian is in charge of all medical decisions,” Dimond emphasizes. “The guardian can order medications to be given to the person. The guardian can take the person out of their abode and put them in a facility…They can keep the family away. They can take the ward and put them in another state. If a female ward is pregnant, they can order an abortion. These people have complete judicial authority.”
Wendy’s family has voiced concerns about their lack of input in her care and not knowing her whereabouts.
“Guardianship is a system designed to protect the most vulnerable, at-risk people,” Dimond argues. “How does it help protect them if you keep them from people who love them? Why is that allowed?”
Indefinite Oversight
While guardianships can be terminated if deemed unnecessary while the individual is still living, as seen in Britney Spears’ conservatorship case, they typically continue until the person’s death. This means individuals under guardianship, like Wendy, potentially lose their fundamental rights indefinitely.
“Wendy Williams is now a ward of the court,” Dimond explains. “She loses all of her civil rights. She can’t vote. She can’t spend her own money. She can decide where to live. She can’t decide who gets to see her. She can’t travel. She can’t do anything. And all of her money is put into the name of the guardian. All of her assets or property, her money, her investment, everything.”
The Guardianship Bill of Rights Act, introduced in 2023, aims to reform this system. It seeks to establish a national council advocating for less restrictive alternatives to guardianship. Similar legislative efforts are underway in states like Florida and Michigan to strengthen protections for vulnerable adults.
The Lingering Question: Where is Wendy Now?
A year after the documentary filming, the question “Where Is Wendy Williams Documentary actually filmed?” is overshadowed by a more pressing concern: where is Wendy Williams herself?
She is reportedly in a medical facility, receiving care. Wanda Finnie informed Dimond that Wendy is thriving and showing signs of improvement. However, Wendy’s family remains unaware of her exact location. While Wendy can contact them, they cannot initiate contact with her. How can this lack of family access truly be in Wendy’s best interest?
“The mechanism would be to hire a lawyer, hire an expensive lawyer to fight it,” Dimond suggests, regarding challenging the guardianship. “It’s really hard for these families and any families across the country I’ve spoken to, to find a lawyer that will take on other lawyers.”
Dimond notes that Wendy’s son, as an heir to her estate, could pursue legal action. However, this would be a costly and potentially protracted legal battle.
“The guardian now has the right to hire their own lawyer to protect them,” Dimond points out. “Wendy Williams pays for that. Wendy Williams will pay for every aspect. Wendy Williams’ estate will pay to fight her own son. As he fights, I don’t know where he would get money to hire a lawyer to fight this. He’s also diminishing his inheritance. The attorneys and the guardian on Mom’s side are draining the money that he would otherwise inherit. There are cases where I’ve seen millions of dollars spent in fights and then the person dies and there’s no money left. It’s all gone.”
Preparing for Potential Incapacity: A Crucial Lesson
Reflecting on Wendy’s situation, a critical takeaway emerges for everyone regarding personal finance and future planning.
Rosenstiel emphasizes that while Wendy is only 59, conversations about potential incapacity should happen proactively, long before it becomes a reality. Families should explore advance directives such as living wills and healthcare proxies, or durable powers of attorney and trusts. Attempting to establish these legal documents after cognitive decline is evident can raise suspicion, as reportedly occurred with Wendy’s son.
“There are people like Bruce Willis or other people who are getting dementia younger and younger and younger. So you need to have this in place,” Rosenstiel advises. “It’s not a question of when I get to be 70 I have to sit down and do this. You don’t know. You could be in an accident anytime. People are incapacitated, either for a period of time or forevermore. You never know when something is going to happen. You need to have a mechanism in place. And you need to have people use trust.”
Wendy’s situation evokes personal reflections on my own mother’s declining cognitive health towards the end of her life. I often contemplate what her fate might have been had I not been present.
I proactively established myself as my mother’s power of attorney, healthcare proxy, and Social Security representative payee. This foresight allowed me to manage her medical care and finances seamlessly as her mental and physical health deteriorated.
Alt text: A heartwarming photo of the author, a Black woman, embracing her smiling elderly mother, also a Black woman, indoors. The mother is seated and appears frail, while the author is standing and affectionately hugging her.
By taking these essential steps, I ensured my mother’s needs were met. She remained in the comfort of her home. I could visit her freely, offering hugs, holding her hand, and witnessing her smile at every visit.
Ensure you can provide the same care and protection for your loved ones by planning for potential incapacity today.
