Wendy Williams speaks out amid fight for freedom from court-ordered guardianship
Wendy Williams is opening up about her fight for freedom from her yearslong court-ordered guardianship.
Speaking to "Nightline" co-anchor Byron Pitts recently over the phone from a New York care facility, the legendary talk show host said, "How am I doing? I'm still in prison, so to speak."
Williams, who has been in a court-ordered guardianship since 2022, described where she has been living for the past few years.
"As I said, because it's a fact, this is the memory unit. That's what this floor is called, the memory unit. And it is true that these people who live here don't remember anything," she said. "Look, I don't belong here at all. This is ridiculous."
Williams' care team announced in February 2024 that she had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia -- a diagnosis Williams now vehemently disputes.
"Frontotemporal dementia? Uh, how dare you. And I'm not saying you, because I've been accused of having that," she said. "And how do you prove it by keeping me locked here so that you can't… I can't see, look. I can't go out."
Dementia is an umbrella term that describes "the impaired ability to remember, think or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Frontotemporal dementia is caused by degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain, according to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. It is the most common form of dementia for people under the age of 60 and there is currently no known cure.
Primary progressive aphasia is "a neurological syndrome in which language capabilities become slowly and progressively impaired," according to the National Aphasia Association. The organization notes that, unlike other forms of aphasia, primary progressive aphasia does not result from a stroke or brain injury and instead is caused by the "deterioration of brain tissue important for speech and language."
Now, in response to Williams publicly questioning her diagnosis, Williams' court-appointed guardian is asking the court for a new medical evaluation.
In a previous statement to ABC News, an attorney for the guardian said that because the case is under seal, she couldn't defend herself from the multiple claims against her but denied all wrongdoing, adding that "...all of the court-appointed Guardian's activities are regulated and supervised by the Court."
Further attempts by ABC News at obtaining a comment from the guardian have not been successful.
A source tells ABC News that Williams' court-appointed attorney plans to file in court a request to terminate the guardianship.
Williams hosted her popular eponymous talk show for 13 seasons between 2008 and 2022.
The former queen of daytime's life was chronicled in the docuseries "Where Is Wendy Williams?" that aired in February 2024. It painted a dark picture of her reality.
At the time it aired, Williams' niece, Alex Finnie, defended the docuseries and denied that it exploited her aunt as some critics have argued. The docuseries also resulted in a lawsuit, which is still ongoing, by Williams' guardian on Williams' behalf against A&E.
"I will say this, first and foremost, my aunt is the executive producer of this documentary," Finnie told ABC News at the time. "And she said, 'Now is the perfect time, because I wanna take ownership of my story.'"
"Impact x Nightline: What's Happening with Wendy Williams?" is now streaming on Hulu.
Disney is the parent company of Hulu, ABC News and "Good Morning America."
