After hearing about Wendy Williams ongoing health issues last week, Tamron Hall gave the celebrated TV host her flowers for holding down daytime television for the last 13 years. The host of “The Tamron Hall Show” praised Wendy’s groundbreaking career, including her long-running syndicated talk show, “The Wendy Williams Show.”
“For me Wendy is another mom. Another woman who created, executive produced and hosted her show,” said Hall. “Wendy and I are currently the only two Black women who created, executive produced, and solo host daytime shows on right now.”
Hall explained why she saluted Williams’ groundbreaking career and show in a “Breakfast Club” interview that aired Tuesday, March 22.
She said, “It’s not the show I would have done. I’m going to be very honest. But she did it so brilliantly and did it for over a decade.”
The legendary host then explained the “double standard” between men and men hosts in daytime television. In the past, Williams has ruffled the feathers of many with her candid and sometimes cutthroat opinions just as famed host Howard Stern has. The outspoken personality is best known for “The Howard Stern Show,” where he expresses his commentary on politics, pop culture, and more. Hall said she couldn’t fathom how viewers gave Wendy so much flak on “The Wendy Williams Show,” when Stern showcased similar conversations.
“And I would hear people say, ‘Well I don’t want to go on Wendy,’ but they would go on his show. And I thought this is a double standard,” said the 51-year-old. “[Wendy] is doing this shocking style of performance, which is exactly what he did. But she was somehow penalized in the eyes of some people. But she stayed on for 13 years. She survived.”
Hall then asked “The Breakfast Club” hosts to Google the number of daytime shows that failed while Wendy “was on doing more with less.”
“It was a chair and a woman who was an excellent performer in that style of television. And she deserves that acknowledgment,” she attests before explaining she hasn’t always agreed with Wendy’s remarks either.
Hall said, “Listen, there were a lot of things that I did not agree with. The Whitney Houston thing still bugs me till this day. And there are a lot of other things. With that said, I felt there was a level of unfairness directed at her style when a comparable peer who did a similar show was still seen as A-list.”
It’s no secret Wendy Williams has had verbal altercations with a number of guests who have appeared on her shows. A 2003 interview with the legendary Whitney Houston got intense after Wendy repeatedly questioned the singer about her alleged drug problems while on the radio.
