Wendy Williams’ health appears to be rapidly deteriorating, with her carers claiming the former TV presenter is “permanently incapacitated” after being diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
In court filings earlier this month, an attorney for Williams’ legal guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, told multiple publications that the 60-year-old is “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled and incapacitated” due to dementia.
Morrissey claims Williams “did not have the capacity to consent to being filmed” about Lifetime’s controversial content. Where is Wendy Williams? A docuseries released early this year.
The docuseries explored Williams’ health issues and his life afterward. the wendy williams show and is her conservator, engaged in an ongoing legal battle with A&E Television Networks, Lifetime Entertainment and other affiliates involved in the release.
According to People, the document references her frontotemporal dementia diagnosis and states, “This incident arises from the cruelly calculated and deliberate actions of a powerful, despicable and opportunistic media company working with producers to intentionally exploit (Williams).” .,” the document read. “FTD is a progressive disease, which means there is no cure and symptoms will only get worse over time.”
The filing alleged that the defendants “cruelly exploited (Williams’) cognitive and physical decline by producing and publishing the documentary at a time when (Williams) was extremely vulnerable and unable to consent to being filmed.”
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Lifetime has not commented publicly on the filing.
Williams has been under court-appointed guardianship since May 2022 after her bank, Wells Fargo, claimed she was “incompetent.”
When Williams and her team decided to share her diagnosis publicly earlier this year, she explained why they did so.
“The decision to share this news was made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but also to raise awareness of aphasia and what it is,” Tim, a former talk show host, said in a Feb. 22 press release. “It cures frontotemporal dementia and supports thousands of other people in similar situations.”
“Unfortunately, many people diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia face stigma and misunderstanding. “This is especially true if they are starting to show behavioral changes but have not yet been diagnosed.”
Where is Wendy Williams? was filmed between August 2022 and April 2023. The project’s producers said they were not aware of Williams’ cognitive issues at the time of filming.
In an interview earlier this year todayExecutive producers Mark Ford and Erica Hanson, who also serve as showrunners, said they understand why some of Williams’ fans have ethical concerns about the documentary.
“We created the documentary in a way that we thought could ultimately benefit Wendy, her family, and the world,” Ford said. “What started out as a story about Wendy and her biography turned into a very different story. (It was about) what happens when a family member you care about becomes your legal guardian and you no longer have access to her.”
The episode showcases several moments of vulnerability for the star, highlighting the cultural impact of Williams’ talk show career.
Throughout the documentary, many of Williams’ family members claimed they had lost contact with Williams, who said he was surrounded only by people on his payroll. In the second episode, Williams’ manager, Will Selby, finds an empty vodka bottle next to the star’s bed and confronts Williams about allegations of excessive drinking.
In the documentary, Williams often appears agitated, crying and confused.
The complaint asks that the defendants pay Williams unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and that the court order the defendants to permanently stop broadcasting the program.
Morrissey said in his filing that Lifetime made “enormous profits” from the production, but Williams himself received “a paltry $82,000.”
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