When Wendy Williams entered into a guardianship in 2022 to protect her finances amidst various health issues, she did so voluntarily.
But now, those in her inner circle and Williams herself say they fear court-appointed guardian Sabrina Morrissey is taking advantage of the TV icon â Ă la Britney Spears â and keeping her on too tight of a leash.
âTheyâve taken everything from her,â a source close to the situation told The Post.
(Morrissey did not return a request for comment.)
Williams, 60, went on âThe Breakfast Clubâ podcast this past Thursday, speaking out about her court-ordered guardianship.
âI am not cognitively impaired, you know what Iâm saying? But I feel like Iâm in prison,â the Asbury Park, NJ, native revealed on the radio show, shooting down reports that she is mentally incapacitated.Â
âDo I seem that way, Godân it?â she insisted, when show host Charlamagne Tha God mentioned reports about her mental state. She added, âThis is what is called emotional abuse.â
Recent years have been quite a roller coaster for the former host of the once beloved daytime talker âThe Wendy Williams Show.â
It premiered in 2008 and quickly became a megahit. Williams made great, viral TV, butting heads with reality star-turned-estranged Trump aide Omarosa; wishing âdeathâ to Britney Spearsâ family amid the #FreeBritney movement; and gossiping over a filmmaker suing Beyonce for copyright infringement for her 2016 âLemonadeâ album.
The queen of âHot Topicsâ also didnât shy away from baring her own dirty laundry, but she also had erratic moments that concerned fans and bosses.
In 2017, she fainted on stage mid-sentence while dressed as the Statue of Liberty for Halloween, first sparking concerns about her health. After the commercial break, she told viewers, âThat was not a stunt. Iâm overheated in my costume and I did pass out. But you know what? Iâm a champ and Iâm back.â
In 2019, she addressed her then-husbandâs cheating scandal. Later that year, she opened up about checking into a sober house for substance abuse treatment.
She and former husband Kevin Hunter, 52, eventually divorced after more than 20 years of marriage when it was revealed heâd fathered a child with another woman.
In 2021, she filmed her last show; it went on without her until 2022, when it was canceled.
Williams reportedly reached out to executives more than once asking why her show was canceled as if it were never discussed, according to reports at the time. Syndication company heads told The Hollywood Reporter at the time they had several discussions with Williams to remind her that the show was over.Â
In 2022, Williams was diagnosed with Lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling in the bodyâs tissues from a build up of lymph fluid, and Gravesâ Disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes the overproduction of the thyroid hormone.
That May, a New York judge placed Williams under a guardianship after her bank, Wells Fargo, told the court she was an âincapacitated personâ and was subject to âundue influence and financial exploitation.â
But her former lawyer said Williams may not have fully understood what she was getting into.
âShe may not have understood what [it] would meanâ and thought she would still have access to her money, LaShawn Thomas, an attorney with Miami Entertainment Law Group who previously represented the star, told The Post.
But the reins of the guardianship have been far tighter, it seems.
Williams is currently in a facility in New York City where, she told âThe Breakfast Club,â she can only call out to family and friends, who are unable to reach out to her. She also does not have access to the internet, and, she recently claimed, has little freedom or money.
âI have $15,â Williams said on the radio show, also claiming that her cats âare gone.â
Those who have seen Williams recently say she seems to be doing well enough as to merit more freedom.
âWendy sounds as if she is doing a lot better than she was a few years ago at the height of everything. Sheâs tracking conversation way better, and is more in control of what sheâs expressing,â âThe Breakfast Clubâs Loren LoRosa, who visited the wellness facility where Williams is currently living, told The Post.
She added that Williams âshould be allowed to be closer to her family, and be part of the authority setting up the guardrails in her life.â
And the guardianship may have been created under shady circumstances.
In a March 2022 complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, obtained by The Post, Williams claimed a doctor sent a letter to Wells Fargo financial advisor Lori Schiller â a former employee â in January 2022, without Williamsâs knowledge or consent.Â
âThis letter unlawfully disclosed information about the patientâs ongoing treatment. This improperly obtained letter is being used as a basis for a legal proceeding against the patient,â the HHS complaint read.Â
âIt was a way for people to discount anything that Wendy could have said,â said the source close to Williams. They also claimed her son, Kevin Jr., 24, was evicted at least twice after being unable to access money in an account set aside for him.
Williamsâ health issues werenât fully made public until early 2024, where her team revealed that she had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia, which impacts the ability to communicate, and frontotemporal dementia, which affects the brainâs frontal and temporal lobes, or the ability to process information.
Now that her son has graduated college, Thomas said Williams really has nothing to lose in speaking out.
âIn my opinion, she doesnât care anymore. Theyâve taken everything from her. What does she have to lose? The one thing she wanted is her money. Now that Kevin Jr. has graduated from college, Wendy doesnât have to worry about Sabrina not sending money for school.âÂ
There has been more sketchiness surrounding Williams in recent years.
A police report obtained by The Post, from Jan. 10, 2022, alleges an ex-employee of Williams charged $10,000 to her American Express card without her permission âafter he was terminated.âÂ
The source close to Williams claims it was ex-employee Bernie Young, who used the funds for a court-ordered attorney, Carolyn Wolf, to pursue guardianship over his former boss.Â
The 2024 Lifetime documentary âWhere Is Wendy Williams?â brought much of the starâs health concerns and personal struggles into the open, including addiction.
In one scene she expresses her love for Titoâs vodka. In another she points out her childhood street in Asbury Park when a stranger says itâs a different road. Elsewhere, a visibly confused Williams calls out to a driver to buy vape pens and appears disoriented at the smoke shop.
Morrissey took issue with the doc and is currently suing Lifetime and its parent company, claiming it âcruelly took advantage of [Williamsâ] cognitive and physical decline by creating and publishing a documentary at a time when [Williams] was highly vulnerable and clearly incapable of consenting to be filmed.â
But following âThe Breakfast Clubâ interview, many fans believe sheâs well enough to be on her own.
After the podcast aired, a GoFundMe titled âSupport Wendy Williamsâ Fight for Independenceâ went live. Thus far, itâs raised more than $13,000 of its $50,000 goal under the hashtag #FreeWendy.
A former acquaintance of Williams notes that, even before her recent medical issues, the star has always had a unique way of relating to the world.
â[She was] always bubbly, engaging, hard to keep up with. Talking to her was the same way youâd see on her show. She lived in a stream of consciousness â whatever was going on in her head she would say,â said the acquaintance, who asked to remain anonymous.
âIs she a victim of some sort of crazy scam? Anything is possible,â the source added. Williams is an eccentric who has always  âhad weirdness around her.â
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