BREAKING NEWS'The Wendy Williams Show' To Officially End Following Host's Health Woes, Sherri Shepherd Will Take Her Spot
Feb. 22 2022, Published 11:23 a.m. ET
The end of an era!
The Wendy Williams Show is officially coming to an end.
As Radar reported, Wendy Williams' daytime slot will officially be taken over by Sherri Shepherd following the ailing host's ongoing health issues.
Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, the co-presidents of the show's distributor, Debmar-Mercury, released a statement on Tuesday, February 22, to confirm the news, calling the announcement "a bitter sweet moment for us and our partners at Fox," according to TMZ.
"We all have great love and affinity for Wendy, who grew into a true icon during her 12 incredible seasons as the solo host of a live, daily talk show dishing on 'Hot Topics' and interviewing celebrities," the statement continued.
"Since Wendy is still not available to host the show as she continues on her road to recovery, we believe it is best for our fans, stations and advertising partners to start making this transition now," Marcus and Bernstein explained. "We hope to be able to work with Wendy again in the future and continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery."
Williams, 67, hasn't appeared in her famed purple chair since July 2021, as a series of health woes — including complications from Graves' disease, a thyroid condition and a brief hospital stint for psychiatric services — prevented her from kicking off Season 12 in September. After several delays in the premiere, the show announced a bevy of celebrity guest hosts would be filling in for Williams while she focuses on her health.
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Shephered, 54, was one of the many hosts to take over Williams' duties while her fans held out hope that she would eventually make a return.
It was reported earlier this month that the actress was in the process of signing a deal to become the permanent guest of her show, but it was later revealed that The Wendy Williams Show would be cancelled completely in June, and that Shepherd would be getting her own show in its place.
As OK! learned, Shepherd reportedly didn't have Williams' "blessing" to take over her show, and her loyal fans were having mixed reactions to the major change-up.
However, the show's producers insisted in their Tuesday statement that Shepherd was a perfect candidate for a new show, as she was a fan-favorite guest host during her time filling in.
"Sherri is a natural who proved her hosting skills for many years as a panelist on The View, on Fox's Dish Nation and again this season as a popular guest host of Wendy," Marcus and Bernstein pointed out in the announcement, per The Hollywood Reporter.
"Like our viewers, we have been impressed by the unique comedic twist Sherri puts on our daily live 'Hot Topics' segment, her creativity and interactions with our guests," the statement read. "Her love for the content and daytime fans is obvious, and we are excited to partner with her to create another long-term talk franchise."
Following the announcement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Williams claimed the TV personality was "incredibly grateful to Debmar-Mercury, to Sherri and everybody else who has supported the show through this time," according to Deadline.
“She, more than anyone, understands the reality of syndicated television — you can’t go to the marketplace and sell a show that’s the Maybe Wendy Show," her rep continued. "She understands why this decision was made from a business point of view, and she has been assured by Debmar-Mercury that should her health get to a point where she can host again and should her desire be that she hosts again that she would be back on TV at that time.”
