US talk show host Wendy Williams feels like she's “in prison” after being placed under guardianship of lawyer

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US talk show host Wendy Williams has said she feels like she is “in prison” after being placed under the guardianship of her lawyer.

US talk show host Wendy Williams - who was placed under the guardianship of her lawyer last year due to illness - says she feels like she is “in prison”. The star, who became a household name hosting The Wendy Williams Show for more than a decade, was placed into care after it was announced she had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.

However, on Thursday (January 16), she called in to US radio show The Breakfast Club and bemoaned her situation, saying she was “not cognitively impaired". The 60-year-old 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.”

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Williams has been under the guardianship of lawyer Sabrina Morrissey since 2022 after being diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia, a rare condition that affects the nervous system and inhibits the ability to communicate and frontotemporal dementia, which affects personality, behaviour and language.

US talk show host Wendy Williams was placed under the guardianship of her lawyer last year due to illnessUS talk show host Wendy Williams was placed under the guardianship of her lawyer last year due to illness
US talk show host Wendy Williams was placed under the guardianship of her lawyer last year due to illness | Getty Images for Spotify

After Williams’ call, her niece Alex also called to show support for her aunt. "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,” she said. "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.”

When her diagnosis was announced, Williams’ team said they had sought a diagnosis after she started "to lose words, act erratically at times, and have difficulty understanding financial transactions".

"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,” they added. “Unfortunately, many individuals diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia face stigma and misunderstanding, particularly when they begin to exhibit behavioural changes but have not yet received a diagnosis.”

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Last year, her sister Wanda Finnie claimed she wasn't made aware of her sibling's diagnosis after she was placed in a facility. The family had received no updates on her condition since she spent time with them in Florida in 2021, she added. Meanwhile, People magazine reported the family was taking legal action over the treatment of their relative - and their lack of involvement.

"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,” a source said. "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."

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