Kevin Hunter Sr., the often criticized ex-husband of Wendy Williams, believes a close relative has played a major contributing role in the host’s mental and physical downward spiral.
The former executive producer of “The Wendy Williams Show” pointed a finger at Wanda Williams, Wendy’s sister, in a scathing Instagram Story post, as backlash regarding those close to the media personality has flooded social media in the wake of Lifetime’s two-part documentary “Where is Wendy Williams?” airing.
Wanda, along with her sister’s niece and nephew Alex and Travis Finnie, as well as Wendy’s son, Kevin Hunter Jr., and others, appear in the controversial project that gives fans a look at the former gossip maven’s health challenges over the last two years.
Kevin Sr. was reportedly furious that the network chose to exploit Wendy and declined an invitation to lend his voice to the production. “Kevin was shocked to see his ex-wife portrayed in such a negative light in the Lifetime trailer,” and “he was also totally blindsided that their son, Kevin Jr., ended up signing onto the project after he initially said he wanted nothing to do with it,” a purported source told The US Sun.
That fury was observed when he claimed that Wanda was in on the exploitation. He wrote, “Ok so everyone heard ‘f—k Kevin’ through docu-series..np the show took precedent over everything including family..what I guess they left out was that while she was in Florida getting recovery 3 yrs ago there were secret calls her SISTER would set up with Debar Mercury (MORT & IRA) with false pretense that she would be getting back..that was a lie and broke s—t more than anything.”
The since-deleted post continued, “They only were trying to get her there to satisfy an insurance claim so they could obviously replace losses and the money that they were STEALING (5-15mil) and they wanted control her sister SISTER was trying to get ultimate control herself and was medical proxy @ the time..but her naïveté allowed her only to be PLAYED and once she got back to NY they kicked her sister out and she spiraled worse..I was involved @ the time…blood on alotta hands.”
A court refused to give Wendy Williams' sister Wanda guardianship, opting for "professional guardian" Sabrina Morrissey instead. #WhereIsWendyWilliams pic.twitter.com/UTEchauIE6
— max (@outtaminds) February 26, 2024
The rock toss did little to deter Wendy’s fans from calling him out for his own mishandling of their relationship and her fortune. The two were married for 21 years when they divorced in 2021 following the news that he impregnated his mistress, Sharina Hudson. He has since made headlines for his attempts to collect spousal support from the Daytime Emmy nominee.
“Dude you bought a whole 750K house with her money for you and your side family. Sit this out. Like Mediterranean Sea out,” wrote one commentator on Instagram. Another person commented, “We don’t want to hear shit you have to say! She’s been on an endless downfall since you did what you did to her.” A third added, “Blood on his hands first and foremost.”
Kevin Sr. is currently in the middle of a $10 million wrongful termination battle with production company Debmar Mercury. Several people, including a manager, publicist Shawn Zanotti, the court-appointed guardian, and Wendy’s own son, have been accused of taking advantage of Wendy’s diminished mental state.
Amid the backlash, Zanotti limited her social media comments but has not publicly addressed her presence in the documentary. In 2022, her Wells Fargo account was frozen and she placed under financial and medical guardianship.
So, publicist Shawn Zanotti says in the #WendyWilliams documentary that she doesn't see anything wrong with Wendy's behavior… Clearly, she'll say anything for a check. #WhereIsWendyWilliams #ShawnZanotti pic.twitter.com/StprsU37ZV
— Brandon Mykol (@vintage1981) February 25, 2024
Last year, 22-year-old Kevin Jr. was exposed for charging $100,000 to her American Express credit card. He alleged that he had access to the line of credit since middle school and that the six-figure debt was used to privately charter her to appointments between New York and Florida. Wendy was a Manhattan resident in 2021, but it was well documented that she sought out medical treatment in Florida, where her family is located.
In the documentary, Travis explained, “To put it in perspective, Kevin’s birthday party that year (2021) that his mom threw was $120,000. Kevin’s rent was $80,000, Kevin’s Uber Eats probably exceeded $100,000 that his mom approved.”
Few takeaways from tonight ..The manager and publicist are both BIG parts of the problem ☝🏽! The Wendy Williams show CAN return once she’s crossed certain health checkpoints 🩷 ! #WhereIsWendyWilliams pic.twitter.com/SDAiHe42mB
— 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥🤴🏽 (@armanivalore) February 26, 2024
When asked if he ever took money from his mother’s account, Kevin Jr. told a producer, “Not without her consent.” Reactions online include someone who wrote, “I definitely don’t believe he was stealing. He def asked.” And another who remarked, “She been spoiling that man that’s the life he’s used to! I’d be mad as hell of strangers tried to come change my financial situation after my mom worked all her life for us to live comfortably!”
Ahead of the “Where Is Wendy Williams?” Feb. 24 premiere, it was revealed that the Radio Hall of Fame inductee was diagnosed in 2023 with frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia, which severely impact cognitive function.
