Wendy Williams' Fans Have Mixed Reactions To Leah Remini Filling In For Ailing Talk Show Host
Not all of Wendy Williams’ fans are thrilled with her new replacement.
Leah Remini served as the first guest host on The Wendy Williams Show on Tuesday, October 19, while Williams continues to deal with ongoing health complications — and her viewers have mixed feelings about it.
Some fans are loving the fresh energy the King of Queens alum is bringing to the hit show so far. The show’s Instagram page posted a clip of the “Hot Topics” segment with Remini, which one user said was “Cracking me up!! 😂🤣.”
Another praised the fill-in host, writing “Leah needs a show!❤️.”
However, most of the comments weren’t so accepting of Williams being replaced while she recovers, and some even want the show to be canceled altogether.
“How do you have the wendy show without wendy....wendy has already made her mark, got her star, had a movie....she needs to take care of herself and cancel the show,” one person commented on the IG clip.
Another wrote, “They are gonna get this woman’s show cancelled. This is terrible. Booooooooo.”
Many viewers previously expressed that they refused to watch the show until Williams is well enough to return to the purple chair.
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- 'The Wendy Williams Show' Fans Demand Sherri Shepherd Return To Guest Cohost As Leah Remini Takes The Helm: 'Let Me Know When Sherri's Back'
Meanwhile, the network is reportedly desperate to keep fans on board for the guest host episodes — and showrunners have even started bribing audience members to stay for tapings.
On Monday, there were two episodes filmed at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., where the audience appeared to be half as full as it normally is.
OK! learned that producers apparently tried keeping the audience members for both tapings by handing out free gift bags to those who agreed to stay.
Williams has been sidelined from her show since dealing with a series of health issues, including her breakthrough COVID-19 case, her battle with Graves’ disease and a thyroid condition.
Last week, the network announced that a series of guest hosts would be filling in for Williams, who is apparently still dealing with “serious” health complications.
It was also announced at the time that Bevy Smith, Michael Yo, Elizabeth Wagmeister and Devyn Simone would be panelists for the show’s premiere week.
The showrunners gave an update on Williams’ health last week as well, where it was revealed that “Wendy continues to be under medical supervision and meets with her medical team on a daily basis.”
However, fans of the show continue to demand answers regarding what is really going on with the talk show star, who was rumored to be “drinking every day while filming,” prior to her hospitalization.
It has not yet been announced when or if Williams will be returning to her regular hosting duties.
