By James Gordon for Dailymail.com 05:25 February 25, 2024, updated 06:38 February 25, 2024
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- Wendy Williams, 59, admitted to drinking an entire bottle of vodka halfway through a revealing documentary that followed the former talk show host for nearly a year
- On Thursday it was revealed that Williams had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia
- The film highlights Williams' erratic behavior coupled with family concerns and legal interventions, including the appointment of a financial guardian
Wendy Williams admitted to drinking an entire bottle of vodka in the first part of a disturbing new documentary in which a film crew followed the former talk show host for almost a year.
It was revealed on Thursday that the 59-year-old had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia just days before the four-hour Lifetime documentary aired.
But on Saturday evening, doctors' formal diagnosis went some way to explaining Wiliiams' often irrational and erratic behavior, which led to her sleeping in bed all day before lashing out at co-workers and family members at the slightest infraction.
The documentary lurched from one confrontation to the next as Williams' co-workers, including her manager, personal assistant and driver, as well as members of her own family, were verbally abused and belittled by the once-popular television personality.
At times it was all too much for Williams, who would either ramble incoherently before bursting into tears as she had a moment of self-awareness and perhaps a moment of realization that she might never again grace American television screens like that again .
Wendy's team announced Thursday that the former talk show host has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and aphasia. Williams' manager asks her if she drank an entire bottle of vodka in one day. Williams, 59, admitted drinking a bottle of vodka An entire bottle of vodka Will Selby, Williams' manager, admits it is an uphill battle to stop Williams from drinking
Whatever the case, it's clear that something is very wrong.
In one of the most shocking incidents in the documentary, which details her struggles with alcohol abuse and mental health in recent years, Williams is confronted by her manager Will Selby, who asks why she has an almost completely empty bottle of vodka in her bedroom.
“So, have you eaten anything or had a liquid lunch?” Because I came into your room and suddenly one of your specialties caught my eye out of nowhere. Did you drink the whole thing today?' Selby asks.
“Yes,” Williams replies before quickly saying “No.”
“I don’t know if you need this right now,” Selby continues confidently.
“I’m not drunk!” Williams protests.
“I never said you were drunk, but I just don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Selby continues. “So do you think it's completely okay for you to have as many drinks as you want?”
“Perfect,” Williams replies bluntly. “F**k you!”
“I just put it downstairs to keep it cool,” suggests Selby.
'Leave it there!' Williams demands, making sure she can see the alcohol.
“I don't know how much alcohol she drinks, but I threw the damn liquor away.” And I'll just be honest with you. “I don’t know if it will stop them,” Selby says to the camera immediately after the encounter.
“I never feel powerless, but I feel like I just need help because I can't do this alone.” “I would be lying to you if I thought I could beat alcoholism on my own.”
Williams is then asked directly if she plans to stop drinking.
“No,” Williams replies. 'Will [Selby] Beverages. We all drink. Why can not I?' she says, justifying her position.
The film presents Williams with the ideal opportunity to revive her career as she prepared to launch a podcast shortly after the cancellation of The Wendy Williams Show, which ran from 2008 to 2022.
Instead, the film serves to capture her struggles with alcohol abuse, along with her ever-increasing cognitive difficulties and utter confusion about the world around her.
Williams seems virtually unable to answer the producers' repetitive questions, often breaking down in tears as the topics of alcohol abuse and her financial worries keep coming up.
The film highlights Williams' erratic behavior coupled with family concerns and legal interventions, including the appointment of a financial guardian. Williams' son Kevin Hunter Jr. was accused of withdrawing $100,000 from her AmEx, but he claimed that everything was approved by her Her Wells Fargo In 2022, the accounts were frozen and the bank successfully applied to have them under to provide guardianship to prevent their exploitation
Later in the documentary, several of Williams' family members appeared, including her nephew Travis Finnie and 23-year-old son Kevin Hunter Jr.
In May 2022, the New York State court system appointed an independent guardian to manage Williams' finances.
The conservatorship began when Williams' bank, Wells Fargo, froze her accounts after her then-financial advisor allegedly raised concerns that she was “mentally unsound,” according to Williams' subsequent court filings.
Wells Fargo then asked a New York court to place the talk show host under conservatorship, which a judge later approved in January 2022.
At the time, the bank claimed it feared Williams could be financially exploited because of her “cognitive issues.”
Her son Kevin was accused of debiting $100,000 from her American Express card, but he defended himself and clarified in the documentary that he never spent a dime without his mother's permission.
“Do you think your mother should have a guardian?” the show’s producer asks Hunter Jr.
“I think my mother should have a family. The family side of the story has not been told, leaving a bit of a gray area as to who is really telling the truth or what is really going on. I always wanted the best for my mother. “You know, I just stay strong,” Hunter Jr. explained.
“No matter how many times someone falls, you have to pick them up, but I feel like the situation she's in right now isn't really the best situation for her healing journey.”
In another bizarre moment, Williams, who turns 60 in July, is seen admiring her slim figure in the bedroom mirror.
'Oh dear God! I just said, “Oh my God, how sexy I look.” Look, a thigh gap. See, even if I do that, do you see a thigh gap? And I have tears. In a good way. I love my family.'
In a bizarre moment, Williams, who turns 60 in July, is seen admiring her figure in the mirror. Williams seems excited about having a “thigh gap” between her legs. At one point, Williams instructs the show's producer to leave her bedroom afterward. As he becomes upset about his line of questioning, Williams can be seen breaking down several times throughout the documentary
Williams is then asked if she still supports her son – but the question sends her into a state of emotional turmoil.
“First of all, asking, 'Do I support?' – is the wrong word. 'Who the hell are you?' Williams asks the documentary producer as she breaks down in tears.
“I didn’t want to upset you,” the filmmaker says apologetically.
'Leave me alone. Go away!' Williams orders. “This is the third time I've cried.” And I cried the other day, and I'm not a crier. I have so much money. “I want it for my son,” Williams said through tears.
In the second hour of the documentary, Williams is seen on a tour of her old stomping ground near the Chelsea television studios, which was her home for 13 years.
Williams appears completely confused as she instructs her driver to continue around the block as they pass the studios twice, where Sherri Shepherd has now taken her seat.
Jammail has been Williams' driver for just over a year but has noticed a change in behavior. Williams swears and talks into the camera at several points in the documentary. Williams sends her assistant Shawn to a tobacco shop to get her a vape pen. Williams appears dissatisfied with the choice of vape pen she receives, so she tosses it to her assistant. Williams appears completely confused as she instructs her driver to continue around the block as they pass the studios where Sherri Shepherd has now taken her seat. Eventually Williams and her team simply have to return home to their apartment
Williams then instructs her driver to stop at a smoke shop she knows so that her assistant can buy her a vape pen.
“I don’t see my place. Uh, that doesn't sound familiar when I go to The Wendy Williams Show. Why did it take so long?'
A discussion lasting several minutes ensues as members of her team argue with Williams about whether they purchased the right vape pen for her.
Meanwhile, Williams seems to become more and more erratic and restless before filming is finally stopped altogether.
“She had a beautiful personality. “Now it’s just like, I don’t know what the hell is going on,” her driver Jammail tells the camera, caught up in Williams’ emotional whirlwind.
“I don’t know what she’s going through, but it’s getting very intense. Whatever she's going through, I think she's losing her memory.” She's just losing her mind.
“If you talk to her, she will lose her temper. Sometimes she doesn't even recognize who I am. I would often pick her up and she would ask, “Hey, who are you again?” It's very difficult to deal with something like that. You know, to be with Wendy every day, that must be a great paycheck.'
Williams appears to become increasingly erratic and desperate before filming is finally called off
On Friday, Williams broke her silence for the first time after her recent health diagnoses were revealed.
“I would like to say that I am very grateful for the love and kind words I received after sharing my diagnosis of aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).” Let me say, wow! “Their response has been overwhelming,” she said in a statement
Wendy ended her statement by saying, “I continue to need personal space and peace to thrive.” Please know that your positivity and encouragement are greatly appreciated.”
The statement said Williams was diagnosed back in 2023. The talk show host has reportedly been living in a treatment facility since April 2023.
Her team also revealed that her health issues “have already posed significant hurdles in Wendy's life” and, according to them, have an impact on behavioral and cognitive abilities.
The two-part documentary filmed Williams from August 2022 to April 2023, when Williams entered the treatment facility where she remains to this day.