Former 'Wendy Williams Show' Producer Recalls Its 'Long, Slow Descent' Before Cancelation

Former Wendy Williams Show producer Norman Baker spilled on the daytime talk series' conclusion.

Baker, who worked on The Wendy Williams Show for over a decade, serving on the production team from September 2010 until the series' cancelation in July 2022, described the end of the program as a gradual decline rather than a sudden drop, noting that no one has been able to fill the void left by the host's irreverent style.

Baker also said he remains protective of Wendy Williams and has declined to participate in projects intended to disparage her legacy.

“She was so irreverent, and she spoke her mind, and nobody, really, is allowed to do that — especially a Black woman. Being allowed to do that on daytime television is a big deal, and I feel like nobody really does that anymore,” Baker explained,

“There’s so many times I get like, ‘Wake her up. Get her back. Fire up the lights. Let’s get that show back.’ I feel like no one’s been able to fill like the void that she, and should I say we, created,” Baker said on the “Awf the Record” podcast.

The popular talk show’s demise wasn’t sudden.

“It was a long, slow descent. But I knew her really well, and so it would be like one day something’s off and then the next day she’s fine. But the longer the show ran, the more frequent it became," he confessed. "But it was the last couple seasons, especially when she lost her mom. I think that was the catalyst to make things kind of devolve.”

Shirley Williams' death in late 2020 severely impacted the television personality's well-being. After this personal loss and the show's cancellation, Wendy became subject to a contentious legal guardianship established by a New York court in May 2022.

While her care team previously announced in early 2024 that she was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and primary progressive aphasia, her legal team has since fiercely disputed this.

The star underwent a new evaluation testing by a top neurologist, who concluded that she does not have FTD.

Her representation attributes her previous cognitive struggles to alcohol-induced damage — which can improve with sobriety — and is actively using these results to petition New York courts to terminate her guardianship

The 62-year-old former talk show host remains under a court-ordered legal guardianship and continues to reside in a high-end assisted-living facility in New York City.

Her former staffer reaffirmed his love and caring for Wendy, saying, “I feel very protective of her, like I love her still. I owe her so much, but I do feel very, very protective of her and her legacy. I know there are people who want you to trash her or say bad things about her, but I never had that relationship where it was negative — it was all positive.”