Wendy Williams’ brother Tommy Williams claims the former talk show host is “trapped” in a treatment center and wants her released.
The television personality, 59, is currently receiving treatment for frontotemporal dementia, which her son says is “alcohol-induced,” and aphasia at an undisclosed facility in New York, where she has reportedly been since April 2023.
‘I know it’s stuck and we’re trying to get it unstuck. Her family is here and she doesn’t need facilities. We are here to take care of her,’ she said. Us weekly.
‘The only thing I want for her is freedom. “We have a father who would love to see her,” she added.
He also expressed frustration at not being able to see her, telling the publication, “We’re dealing with unknowns.” We just want to be able to communicate with her. she would fly there [to New York], but where am I going? Nobody knows anything.’
Wendy Williams’ brother Tommy Williams claims the former talk show host, 59, is “stuck” in a treatment center and wants her released; They are seen together in an Instagram snapshot
Tommy added that communication between the television presenter and her family has been difficult.
“We can’t communicate unless someone connects us,” he revealed.
‘We are waiting for calls. I wait for calls from Wendy or my sister or whoever she can contact first and we can all hop on. When she makes that phone call [to us]we are committed to listening and sharing for the moment.’
Tommy added that “it seems like forever” since he saw his sister.
‘It’s because of the people around her. You can not go away. You are there as part of a program.
“It’s the only thing holding her back and preventing her from communicating, traveling and doing all the things she likes to do.”
The star’s care team announced his diagnosis of aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in a press release on Thursday. They said Williams had undergone “a series of medical tests” before reaching the diagnosis.
The statement noted that Williams had been diagnosed in 2023. The talk show host has reportedly been living in a treatment facility since April 2023.
The update came ahead of the Feb. 24 premiere of a Lifetime documentary Where’s Wendy Williams? – which details her struggle with alcohol abuse and mental health in recent years – despite the star’s guardian’s lawsuit against the network.
The television personality is currently receiving treatment for frontotemporal dementia and aphasia at an undisclosed facility in New York, where he has reportedly been since April 2023.
‘I know it’s stuck and we’re trying to get it unstuck. Her family is here and she doesn’t need facilities. “We’re here to take care of her,” Tommy told Us Weekly.
‘The only thing I want for her is freedom. We have a father who would love to see her,” he added. ‘We’re dealing with unknowns. We just want to be able to communicate with her. I would fly there [to New York], but where am I going? Nobody knows anything,’ she stated.
Tommy added that communication between the television presenter and her family has been difficult. “We can’t communicate unless someone connects us,” she revealed.
While Tommy did not appear in the docuseries, Wendy’s son, Kevin Hunter Jr., 23, and his sister, Wanda Williams, did appear.
In one scene, Kevin claimed that his mother’s medical team thought her drinking “was starting to affect her mental space and her brain.”
“So I think they said it was alcohol-induced dementia,” he concluded.
Tommy told Us Weekly that there was “naturally some concern” among Wendy’s family regarding her drinking habits.
‘It was obvious about his drinking. “She was alone and her mental state, having been divorced and having lost her mother and alcohol, was not a good combination,” she shared, referring to Wendy’s 2020 separation from her ex-husband Kevin Hunter Sr. and the death of his mother, Shirley Williams, during that same year.
“He was very sad about the loss of his mother and very sad.”
Tommy added that despite his challenges, his family can “figure it out and get him everything he needs.”
Wendy opened up about her recent health diagnoses for the first time in a statement released last Friday.
‘I want to say that I have immense gratitude for the love and kind words I have received after sharing my diagnosis of aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Let me say, wow! Their response has been overwhelming,” she shared in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
“The messages shared with me have moved me, reminding me of the power of unity and the need for compassion.”
The star’s care team announced his diagnosis of aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in a press release on Thursday; she is seen on February 21
In a new docuseries, Wendy’s son Kevin Hunter Jr., 23, claimed his mother’s medical team thought the dementia was “alcohol-induced”; Wendy, Kevin Jr and her ex-husband Kevin Hunter seen in 2017
Wendy ended her statement by writing: ‘I still need personal space and peace to thrive. Please know that we deeply appreciate your positivity and encouragement.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Wendy’s best friend slammed the ailing TV host’s legal guardian, claiming the woman charged with caring for her left her without “access to food,” while expressing suspicions about Wendy’s recent dementia diagnosis. .
Wendy was placed under legal guardianship in May 2022, after her bank account said it had “strong reason to believe” she was “mentally ill” and a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”
At that time, the court assigned someone to manage Wendy’s finances and health, and although her identity was not made public at first, TMZ It was recently revealed that Wendy’s guardian was a New York-based lawyer named Sabrina Morrissey.
But now, one of the star’s closest friends, Regina Shell, who has known Wendy since she was just 13, has spoken out against her guardian.
During a recent appearance on Chris Cuomo’s NewsNation series, Cuomo claimed that the broadcaster “didn’t have access to her money” and had to ask Sabrina’s permission for any purchases she wanted to make, including meals.
He alleged that this sometimes meant that Wendy went for hours on end without eating, which left Regina so worried that she began ordering food from all over the country.
“When I was in New York and I stayed with Wendy in the summer, I realized… that she didn’t have access to her money,” Regina shared Monday night.
‘Every time I had to do something I had to pay for, I had to go to the tutor.
Lifetime released a shocking new documentary about her, titled Where’s Wendy Williams?, over the weekend, detailing her struggles with alcohol and mental health over the past few years.
‘And she would call to order her breakfast at 7:30 in the morning with the tutor, and she would take the order, but the order wouldn’t appear until noon. So Wendy wouldn’t have food.
Regina said that when she returned home to Los Angeles, she started sending out her “delivery service” because she was nervous that Wendy “wasn’t getting” enough to eat.
“When I got back to L.A., I would have to send her food from L.A. to New York for delivery, because she wasn’t getting…” he paused.
‘The communication was not there and she had no other access to the money than this guardian.
Days before the release of the new documentary, TMZ reported that Wendy’s guardian had filed a lawsuit against Lifetime’s parent company, A&E Television Networks.
Sabrina had asked the court for injunctive relief, indicating that her request could have been an attempt to stop the network from airing the television special, but a judge ultimately dismissed the case citing the First Amendment.
The filmmakers began following Wendy in 2022, hoping at the time to document her ‘return,’ but instead, they captured her tragic downward spiral and deteriorating health.
In the documentary, the former TV legend seemed virtually unable to answer producers’ repetitive questions, often appearing confused and rambling incoherently, breaking down in tears or lashing out at friends or family.
Wendy was placed under legal guardianship in May 2022, after her bank account said it had “strong reason to believe” she was “mentally ill” and a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation”; seen in 2019
It was certainly a big difference from the once-fearless TV star who used to earn $10 million a season as host of The Wendy Williams Show.
At the end of 2021, amid her multiple ailments, her broken marriage, and her increasing alcoholism, Wendy took an indefinite step away from her hosting job.
In the following months, she made a series of worrying public appearances that saw her disheveled and often confused.
Now, Wendy hasn’t been seen publicly in over a year and, according to the documentary, has been living in a treatment facility since last April.