HEALTHWendy Williams All Smiles in Rare Sighting After Guardian Claims She's 'Permanently Incapacitated' Amid Dementia Battle
Wendy Williams was seen in a rare outing after her guardian claimed she's 'permanently incapacitated.'
Wendy Williams made a rare public appearance following claims from her guardian that the former talk show host is “permanently incapacitated” due to early-onset dementia.
The 60-year-old ex-TV icon was all smiles as she relaxed in the back seat of a black SUV during a stop at Sho’nuff Oysters in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Sunday, December 15, according to an Instagram video captured by blogger Antoine Edwards.
Wendy Williams used to host 'The Wendy Williams Show.'
According to Edwards, Williams wasn’t alone as her nephew Travis Finnie accompanied her on the outing.
Williams looked stylish, rocking an army green jacket paired with bold accessories, including several bracelets and a statement ring.
She then completed her look with a red lipstick.
The sighting comes just weeks after her court-appointed guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, filed a legal document on November 12 in a New York court, revealing that the former talk show host is "cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and legally incapacitated" due to her dementia diagnosis.
Wendy Williams has been out of the spotlight for some time.
The recent filing is part of a lawsuit involving A&E Television Networks, Lifetime Entertainment and others behind the four-part docuseries Where Is Wendy Williams?, which "provides a raw, honest and unfiltered reality of Wendy's life after she was placed under financial guardianship, shedding light on the vulnerabilities that has turned Wendy into the Hot Topic herself."
The lawsuit accused the defendant of filming Williams without a valid contract or her guardian’s consent, claiming she was in a “highly vulnerable” state and “clearly incapable of consenting to being filmed, much less humiliated and exploited.”
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An excerpt of the legal document reads: "This case arises from the brutally calculated, deliberate actions of powerful and cravenly opportunistic media companies working together with a producer to knowingly exploit [Williams]. FTD is a progressive disease, meaning that there is no cure and the symptoms only get worse over time.”
Wendy Williams, 60, was diagnosed with dementia in 2023.
Morrissey also requested that the court approve “narrowly applied redactions” to certain details about Williams' health, finances and family relationships in the ongoing legal battle to protect her privacy and dignity.
A&E, however, fired back with a counterclaim, arguing that neither Williams nor Morrissey ever tried to stop production or question the validity of her contract.
“We also describe how Williams’ manager Will Selby saw the Documentary and its trailer before they aired and expressed enthusiastic support. Williams’ family members also watched the Documentary before its release, expressed support, and even participated in press interviews connected to its launch,” the network said in their statement.
Wendy Williams was diagnosed with alcohol-related brain damage in 2019.
On top of FTD, she was also diagnosed with Graves’ disease in 2018, and lymphedema and alcohol-related brain damage in 2019, leading Morrissey to being in charge.
However, her sister Wanda Finnie revealed to People that the family had not been informed about Williams’ condition or diagnosis and hadn’t received any updates on her health since the fall of 2021.
"How did she go from this aunt or sister that we love and is healthy one minute to this person who’s in and out of the hospital?" Finnie questioned while wondering why Morrissey is reportedly the only person with unrestricted access to Williams at the moment.
"How is that system better than the system the family could put in place? I don't know. I do know that this system is broken. I hope that at some point, Wendy becomes strong enough where she can speak on her own behalf," she added.
