Wendy Williams’ team has given fans sobering news regarding the former talk show host’s health.
A press release from Williams’ team states that she has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and primary progressive aphasia. FTD targets a person’s cognitive and behavioral abilities. FTD has also been in the news in recent years because it is the same disorder Bruce Willis was diagnosed with. Aphasia affects a person’s ability to communicate and understand language.
The diagnosis is devastating for fans who have wanted Williams to come back to the forefront as the queen of gossip. But the disorders confirm that Williams’ health is too severe for the comeback fans are looking for.
Her team explained more about her condition, stating, “Over the past few years, questions have been raised at times about Wendy’s ability to process information and many have speculated about Wendy’s condition, particularly when she began to lose words, act erratically at times, and have difficulty understanding financial transactions.”
“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration,” the press release continued, “not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances. Unfortunately, many individuals diagnosed with apahsia and frontotemporal dementia face stigma and misunderstanding, particularly when they begin to exhibit behavioral changes but have not yet received a diagnosis.”
Williams’ condition is at the center of Williams’ upcoming two-part Lifetime documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams?. Williams produces the documentary, which follows her life after The Wendy Williams Show and as her condition worsens. The documentary also dives into the people surrounding Williams to determine who actually has her best interest at heart. As the synopsis states:
Over the course of nearly two years, cameras chronicled the former television host and radio star Wendy Williams’ on the next phase of her life, following the end of her iconic talk show. The documentary provides a raw, honest and unfiltered reality of Wendy’s life after she was placed under financial guardianship, shedding light on the vulnerabilities that has turned Wendy into the Hot Topic herself. Suffering mental and physical issues, Wendy’s delicate state of mind, erratic behavior and declining health were all captured by the cameras. Where is Wendy Williams? is the story of Wendy’s journey to resurrect her career, and what filmmakers discovered along the way. But many questions remain – who truly has Wendy’s best interest at heart? Is she healthy now? And Where is Wendy Williams?
However, Wanda Finnie, her sister, said to People that Williams is doing much better than what will be shown in the upcoming documentary, saying that Williams regularly reaches out to her and is in “a wellness, healing type of environment.”
