Wendy Williams is back in the spotlight without anyone ever batting an eye at her. For months, the Daytime Emmy Award-nominated television host has evaded paparazzi, hoping to score an exclusive update about her health and possible return to on-air work.
She was last seen around New York in February 2023. Her appearance was described as frail, leaving many to express concern about her well-being. Her whereabouts since those photos surfaced were unknown until radio personality Ms. Jones of the 94.7 The Block morning show uncovered new details about her friend.
While on the air on Jan. 4, Jones revealed that she attempted to pay Williams a visit after months of her colleagues beckoning for her to check in on the media maven. Jones claimed that upon entering the Manhattan apartment building, she told a doorman that she was there to visit Williams. He allegedly responded, “You’re a couple of months late. She moved.”
While sleuthing around the building for additional details, Jones claims she was told by others, “‘Well you know what happened, she was getting better, she was coming around, and then she started getting sick again.’”
Williams has long battled Graves’ disease and lymphedema, which were initially thought to be the reasons behind her sabbatical from her eponymous talk show in 2020. Speculation about her sobriety struggles, her tumultuous divorce from her ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, and subsequent financial turmoil cropped up soon after she stepped away.
“And because her family’s in Florida and people were coming in her circle that they weren’t familiar with and they didn’t know, like, they couldn’t get access to her when they wanted, they moved her down to Florida,” said Jones. “So she is allegedly down in Florida with her son recuperating.”
The update was met with gratitude. “That’s amazing. She needs a strong person in her corner,” commented a fan on Instagram. “Thank you for checking on her regardless of how people feel, she is a living legend, and we must take care of our own,” another person wrote.
Where is Wendy Williams? #FreeWendy pic.twitter.com/MhzTcuCaYb
— Michael 📚 The Woman In Me (@MichaelEnvy) January 21, 2024
Jones threw in, “Wendy, if you listening, you won! Diddy going to jail for Easter—it was true, everything you said…And Kev can’t get your money neither. Wendy, the judge shut him down. You can stop now, Wendy. The jigs up.”
At one point in time, it was speculated that Williams’ financial adviser, Lori Schiller, was instrumental in preventing the entertainer from accessing her money amid a battle against Wells Fargo over frozen accounts. In 2021, the host was placed under financial guardianship.
The hold on Williams’s account led to her only child, Kevin Hunter Jr., being evicted from his $2 million apartment in Miami. The 23-year-old partially directed blame at his mom’s new inner circle for her troubles.
“I know there are all sorts of things happening that I know in her right mind she would never agree to,” he told The Sun in June 2023. “As hard as it is seeing her being taken advantage of, I know that if I’m making sure she, as a person, is OK, that is the important thing.”
Kevin Sr. has faced a slew of financial hardships, forcing him to sell the $1.25 million Florida mansion he lived in with the woman he fathered a child with while married to Williams and pony up more than $20,000 to cover a debt to UBS Bank USA, all after losing his battle to regain alimony from his ex.
He is currently in the midst of a legal battle after suing Debmar Mercury, the production company behind “The Wendy Williams Show,” for wrongful termination in a $10 million suit.
Known for her hot topics and hot “tea,” many fans have expressed that the media frenzy regarding Katt Williams‘ explosive interview calling out big players in comedy would have been the perfect time for her comeback.
She teased the launch of a podcast last year, but those plans fizzled. It is unknown if she is still planning a return to dishing on all things related to celebrities.
