The 9 biggest bombshells from Wendy Williams’ unfiltered documentary “Where is Wendy Williams?”

The four-part Lifetime series spotlights Williams' life following the cancellation of her eponymous talk show

By Joy Saha

Staff Writer

Published February 27, 2024 1:11PM (EST)

Wendy Williams in “Where is Wendy Williams?” (Calvin Gayle/Lifetime)
Wendy Williams in “Where is Wendy Williams?” (Calvin Gayle/Lifetime)

Two days after Wendy Williams was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, Lifetime premiered “Where is Wendy Williams?” — a four-part docuseries detailing the next phase of Williams’ life, following the end of her eponymous talk show. The bombshell production was at the center of legal action after Williams’ guardian filed a lawsuit against Lifetime's parent company A&E Television Networks, seeking to halt its release. The motion was denied by an appeals court Friday afternoon and the documentary was aired as a two-part event — the first two episodes were released on Saturday and the last two were released on Sunday.

Filmed between August 2022 and April 2023, “Where is Wendy Williams?” offers an intimate look at Williams’ life under her court-ordered guardianship, which was placed after Wells Fargo froze her bank accounts and claimed she was an “incapacitated person.” The series spotlights Williams’ alcohol addiction and health issues, which both worsened following the end of “The Wendy Williams Show,” along with her attempted comeback by way of a new podcast.

Prior to the documentary’s anticipated release, Williams thanked her supporters for their well-wishes in light of her diagnosis:  

“I want to say 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! Your response has been overwhelming,” Williams said in a statement released to The Associated Press through a representative for her care team. “The messages shared with me have touched me, reminding me of the power of unity and the need for compassion.”

“Where is Wendy Williams?” stars Williams herself along with her management team (notably her manager and publicist) and close family members, including her son, niece, nephew and sister.

Here are the nine biggest bombshells from the series:

01
Williams says her sister Wanda “hates that I love alcohol”
Wendy WilliamsWendy Williams attends Daniel's Leather Fashion Show featuring Dame Dash at Harbor New York City on February 15, 2023 in New York City. (Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images)

In the opening moments of the documentary’s first episode, Williams unapologetically says, “I love vodka,” adding that her sister Wanda Finnie “hates that I love alcohol.”

 

Williams’ lifelong friend Regina Shell says the former talk show host began abusing alcohol in 2018 when she was grappling with her husband Kevin Hunter’s infidelity: “It was causing her to drink more than she usually would. She would drink sometimes, but when she was going through the tribulation with Kevin, it definitely was to numb out.”

 

In 2019, Williams’ family admitted her to a rehab facility in Florida. She was soon moved to a sober house in New York when executives for “The Wendy Williams Show” asked her to be back in the city.

 

In Sept. 2022, Williams spent time in a wellness facility. Two months after, Williams returned home to New York under the care of her guardianship and resumed filming for the documentary. When shown a prior clip of herself drunk, Williams began crying — not because of the things she said but because of the outfit and wig she was wearing at the time.

 

Throughout the documentary, Williams’ manager Will Selby is seen expressing concern over her drinking habits. In the second episode, Selby finds an empty vodka bottle in her room and asks Williams if she ate something or just had “a liquid lunch.” In another scene, Selby asks a waiter to ignore Williams’ drink order and instead give her a mocktail while she’s out to dinner with her management team.

 

When asked why she chooses to continue drinking, Williams simply says, “because I can,” and added, “We all drink — why can’t I?”

02
Williams’ manager says she has become “more aggressive” and “demanding”
Wendy WilliamsWendy Williams (L) attends the "New Cash Order" Documentary Screening at Lighthouse International Theater on February 20, 2020 in New York City. (Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images)

Selby says he’s noticed Williams become “more aggressive" and "demanding” but regardless, she’s “one of the biggest personalities we’ve seen in quite some time.” In the early episodes, Williams is seen lashing out at multiple individuals, including her management team, her stylist and a personal trainer.

 

“Wendy being pissed off is normal,” Selby says. “She changes her mind all the time.”

 

In one scene, Williams berates her nail technician and calls her “stupid.” She also tells her publicist Shawn Zanotti that she needs liposuction and calls her a “dumbass,” later scolding Zanotti for purchasing the incorrect vape pen.

 

Williams' nephew Travis Finnie says he noticed a change in his aunt’s personality over the past 10 years. Finnie recalls living with Williams while he was in college, saying the family wouldn’t see her until 5 a.m. when it was time for her to go to work on “The Wendy Williams Show.”

03
Williams would get high "five days" a week while working as a shock jock in the 90s
Wendy WilliamsWendy Williams attends a private dinner at Fresco By Scotto on February 21, 2023 in New York City. (Johnny Nunez/WireImage/Getty Images)

Williams says she would get high “like five days” a week in the 90s during the early beginnings of her career as a burgeoning radio shock jock. She says she did drugs because she “wanted to experience everything.”

 

Williams stopped doing drugs when she met Hunter because she “wanted to have a baby.” Williams and Hunter welcomed their son, Kevin Hunter Jr., in 2000.

 

“My son Kevin is very important to me,” Williams says tearfully.

04
Williams’ disc jockey, DJ Boof, found her unresponsive in 2020
Dj BoofDj Boof attends "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" Season 3 Premiere at Chelsea Factory on November 30, 2023 in New York City. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

In April 2019, Williams filed for divorce from Hunter after more than two decades of marriage. The split came after Williams learned that Hunter had fathered a child with another woman.

 

“Kevin had a major indiscretion that he will have to deal with for the rest of his life. An indiscretion that I will not deal with,” Williams told The New York Times. “I never thought that I would be in this position. I’m a very forgiving person, but there’s one thing that I could never be a part of, and that one thing happened.”   

 

Following Williams' divorce, her show disc jockey, DJ Boof, says he became Williams' newfound “protector.” Boof had been helping Williams broadcast remotely from her New York City apartment amid COVID’s peak. He would hold up cue cards for her, but recalls that there were “times she showed no emotion.”   

 

“This is not COVID doing this,” Boof says. “[It's the] damage of using alcohol for so long…I got to see the lowest of lows.”

 

In May 2020, Boof says he found Williams unresponsive. Boof called Williams’ ex-husband, who then called an ambulance to take her to the hospital, where she received several blood transfusions. The incident led to Boof leaving “The Wendy Williams Show” once it returned to the studio months later.     

 

“She just wasn’t the same person anymore,” he says.

05
Williams didn’t know that her talk show was being canceled
Wendy WilliamsWendy Williams hosts "The Wendy Williams Show" at The Wendy Williams Show Studio on January 12, 2012 in New York City. (Rahav Segev/WireImage/Getty Images)

According to Williams’ niece Alex Finnie, her aunt had no clue that “The Wendy Williams Show” was slated to be canceled. The long-running talk show, which ran for 13 seasons from 2008 to 2022, had officially been canceled in Feb. of 2022.

 

“I said to her, ‘Sit down. The show is no more. The show’s done. It’s now Sherri [Shepherd] who is in your time slot. The Wendy Williams Show as you know it, it’s done,’” Finnie recalled telling her aunt. “She [Williams] was still going out and saying, ‘I’m getting ready for a new season,’ and then it took a little bit of time — weeks, months — to really understand where things stood. That’s how that played out.”

 

In the second episode of the documentary, Williams cries on the steps of her childhood home in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and tells her manager, “I really want to be back on television.”

 

“She’s overcome a lot,” Selby says. “She’s still in this fight.”

06
Williams’ son Kevin Jr. says he’s never taken money without his mother’s consent
Wendy Williams and son, Kevin Hunter Jr.Wendy Williams and son, Kevin Hunter Jr. attend the ceremony honoring Wendy Williams with a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame held on October 17, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

In early 2022, Williams’ bank Wells Fargo froze her accounts and successfully filed a petition for a temporary financial guardianship, arguing that she is of “unsound mind.” Williams says she currently has no access to her money: “One judge and three doctors say my money is still stuck at Wells Fargo and I’m going to tell you something, if it happens to me, it could happen to you.”

 

Williams’ son Kevin Jr. refuted claims that he exploited his mother and spent her money without her consent. “As one can imagine, it’s not a cheap lifestyle. The court tried to frame it as though I was making all these charges for my own happiness. My mom has never been a cheap person, whether it’d be flying her back and forth on private planes or even paying for appointments,” he says.

 

He continued: “I've always spoken to her, and she's always wanted me to spend her — let's spend her money. She's always told me, 'Kevin, if you ever need something or whatever, just ask me, and, like, you know, it could happen.' She would always communicate with me."

 

Williams’ nephew explained that the charges the bank was suspicious of totaled to only $100,000, which he claims is nearly how much Williams might spend on a birthday party for her son.

 

“For them to have a court case and rip him away from taking care of his mother, it’s very questionable,” Finnie said.

07
Kevin Jr. reveals that doctors believe Williams has “alcohol-induced dementia”
Kevin Hunter, wife Wendy Williams and son Kevin Hunter JrKevin Hunter, wife Wendy Williams and son Kevin Hunter Jr pose at a celebration for The Hunter Foundation Charity that helps fund programs for families and youth communities in need of help and guidance at Planet Hollywood Times Square on July 11, 2017 in New York City. (Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)
Kevin Jr. says his mother’s doctors told him that her health condition is caused by excessive drinking. “Because she was drinking, I think they said it was alcohol-induced dementia,” he says.
08
Wanda says she was asked to be her sister’s guardian, but then “the wall came down”
Wendy WilliamsWendy Williams attends the ceremony honoring her with a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame held on October 17, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Michael Tran/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

Wanda reveals in the final episode that she was asked to be Williams’ guardian, but then “the wall came down.” Wanda also says she was one of the last family members to sign onto the docuseries.

 

“We want Wendy healthy and happy,” she says. Despite not knowing her sister’s exact location, Wanda hopes Williams will be better soon: “All I want is for my sister to be healthy. She has withstood attack after attack. She is my hero. She will always be my hero. I will do whatever has to be done to help her be healthy.”

 

“There is going to be a happy ending.”

09
Williams is currently in a facility to treat cognitive issues
Wendy WilliamsTelevision personality Wendy Williams speaks onstage during her celebration of 10 years of 'The Wendy Williams Show' at The Buckhead Theatre on August 16, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

In an interview with People, Wanda says Williams is in a better place physically and mentally.

 

“I spoke with her yesterday and I speak with her very regularly when she reaches out to me. She is, from what I understand, in a wellness, healing type of environment,” says Wanda of the unnamed facility Williams is in to address cognitive issues.

 

“We cannot reach out to her, but she can reach out to us. And she is in a healing place emotionally. She's not the person that you see in this film.”

"Where is Wendy Williams?" is currently available for streaming on Lifetime. Watch a trailer for it below, via YouTube:

 


By Joy Saha

Joy Saha is a staff writer at Salon. She writes about food news and trends and their intersection with culture. She holds a BA in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

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