Wendy Williams disputes assessments of her illness, compares conservatorship to prison

Wendy Williams is blowing the whistle on her conservatorship. Last year, it was announced that the former talk show host had been diagnosed with dementia and aphasia; her court-appointed guardian Sabrina E. Morrissey claimed in legal filings that Williams is “cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.” But Williams disputed this assessment during a call-in interview with The Breakfast Club radio show: “Do I seem that way, god damn it?” she said.

“I am not cognitively impaired, you know what I’m saying? But I feel like I am in prison,” she said, noting that the people on the floor of the facility where she lives have what she considers more significant issues than she does. She spoke to feeling “isolated” because any time she leaves the facility is strictly controlled. Her finances are also out of her hands, and all purchases have to go through her guardian—she wasn’t even allowed to keep her beloved cats. The “system is broken,” Williams said, and has “falsified a lot.” 

“For the last three years I’ve spent my birthday by myself… This is what is called emotional abuse,” she shared. “I keep the door closed. … I watch TV. I listen to the radio. I watch the window. I sit here, and my life goes by.”

Williams’ niece Alex was also on the phone to speak to the experience: the phone Williams has doesn’t accept incoming calls (“I don’t even know what kind of phone this is that I have,” Williams added) so the family can’t call her, her visits are incredibly restricted, and she’s not even getting outside for proper sunlight. Alex feels that Morrissey has punished her aunt, giving away her pets and canceling trips to retaliate whenever Williams tries to push back on the conservatorship. Williams and Alex acknowledged that there may be retaliation for the Breakfast Club interview, but felt they had no other options but to publicize her struggle. Her niece encouraged people to post on social media with the #FreeWendy hashtag and sign a petition on Change.org.

Williams wants to live with her family in Florida; in December, her son posted on Instagram that his mother is “sober and wants to come home.”  He added, “We’re fighting to make that happen because Isolation is killing her faster than anything else.” The TV personality said in her radio interview that she wanted to at least visit Miami for her father’s birthday, but her guardian hasn’t yet approved it (the care team is “playing games” about it, as Alex put it). “I am exhausted thinking about, what if I can’t see my dad for his birthday? At 94 the day after that is not promised,” Williams said through tears, expressing the simple desire to be able to pick out a present for him. “My life is fucked up.”