Former daytime talk show host Wendy Williams has insisted she is “not cognitively impaired” and feels like she’s “in prison”.
Wendy Williams feels like she’s “in prison” and insists she is “not cognitively impaired”.
The 60-year-old star – who hosted her eponymous talk show from 2008 until 2022 before Sherri Shepherd took over her slot – is under the guardianship of lawyer Sabrina Morrissey and living in a care facility, almost a year after her care team announced she had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
Calling into ‘The Breakfast Club’ on Thursday (16.01.25), she said: “I am not cognitively impaired, you know what I’m saying? But I feel like I’m in prison.
“I’m in this place where the people are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s… There’s something wrong with these people here on this floor.”
Primary progressive aphasia is a rare condition that affects the nervous system and inhibits the ability to communicate, while frontotemporal dementia affects personality, behaviour and language.
The former daytime host has been under a guardianship since 2022.
Her niece Alex also phoned into the morning show and voiced her support for her aunt.
Williams’ niece, Alex, also phoned into the show to support her aunt.
She claimed: “My aunt sounds great. I’ve seen her, in a very limited capacity, but I’ve seen her and we’re talking to her. This does not match an incapacitated person.
“And that’s why we say she’s in a luxury prison, because she is being held and she is being punished for whatever reason that other people are coming up with as to why she has to be kept in this position.”
In a press release from her care team announcing her diagnosis last year, they addressed speculation after she had begun “to lose words, act erratically at times, and have difficulty understanding financial transactions”.
They continued: “The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances.
“Unfortunately, many individuals diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia face stigma and misunderstanding, particularly when they begin to exhibit behavioral changes but have not yet received a diagnosis.”
Almost a year ago, Wendy’s sister Wanda Finnie claimed that she wasn’t made aware of her sibling’s diagnosis after she was placed in a facility to be treated for cognitive issues and that the family had received no updates on Wendy since she spent time with them in Florida in 2021.
Meanwhile, this week a source told PEOPLE: “Wendy Williams’s family is unable to speak on her current condition and location due to ongoing litigation and the fact that they have largely been denied contact.
“But they are all rooting and praying for Wendy and want to express their well wishes as she celebrates her 60th birthday. She was, is and always will be an icon.”
Wendy Williams denies being ‘cognitively impaired’ as she addresses guardianship
