Wendy Williams gets emotional as she speaks out again after undergoing psychiatric evaluation

Wendy Williams has broken her silence again, this time speaking on TMZ Live.

The former talk show host, 60, was getting emotional during a call to the outlet – hours after her temporary financial guardian Sabrina Morrissey wanted to set the record straight about her claims she ‘imprisoned’ her at an assisted living facility called Coterie.

Wendy, who previously compared the assisted living facility to staying at a ‘prison,’ was rushed to the Lenox Hill hospital Monday to undergo psychiatric evaluation after she was seen begging fans for help.

While speaking to TMZ, she said it was a ‘lie’ that she was ‘allowed’ to leave the Coterie and go shopping, adding that her family has to be ‘allowed’ by Sabrina to see her.

‘It is a lie. They are lying people. I’m sorry but I’ve had it up to here. Thank goodness I can speak.’ 

‘What’s more restrictive than the Coterie? The memory unit on the fifth floor. And what is doing on with the Judge [Lisa Sokoloff] speaking to me in such a way,’ Wendy said.

When asked if she is concerned they were going to move her to a more restrictive unit, she said: ‘Yes I am, and don’t make me start crying. Because I can laugh and cry at the drop of a dime,’ she added.

‘It makes me very nervous. Let me be honest with you. I’m scared of that mess. I am. I don’t know what could be tighter than where I am but I have to get out of guardian and I have to do it immediately,’ Wendy said.

When asked why the judge and the guardian want to keep her in the facility, Wendy told Harvey that she would tell him ‘behind the scenes,’ but Ginalisa Monterroso, who was also on the phone with Wendy – a caretaker who is independent of Williams’ guardianship – said she thinks it was because of the Lifetime lawsuit. 

It’s unclear if Monterroso is an employee of the assisted-living facility or what her immediate connection to Williams is. 

Hours earlier, an attorney for her temporary financial guardian Sabrina wanted to set the record straight about the talk show host’s claims she was being ‘imprisoned’ at Coterie.

Sabrina was originally appointed by a judge in 2022 after Wendy’s ex-manager Bernie Young reportedly raised concern that she was of ‘unsound mind’ – which also led to Wells Fargo to temporarily freeze her accounts.

Sabrina had told TMZ that Wendy was receiving ‘excellent medical care’ at the facility, which features a ‘spa, a workout room, excellent food, a dining room, and outside terraces’ – despite the fact the talk show host had said she can only leave the  memory unit with permission.

Last month in February, the star revealed that she has stepped outside only twice in the span of a month as she got candid about her isolating conservatorship.

Wendy also claimed she is not ‘cognitively impaired’ and her family broke their silence in January as they they search for an attorney to help her ‘regain control of her life.’

Wendy broke her silence on Tuesday in an interview on Good Day New York York with host Rosanna Scotto.

Williams had called Scotto from the hospital and explained that she passed her evaluation with ‘flying colors.’   

Rosanna shifted the conversation and said, ‘You know what I don’t understand Wendy is that they’re locking you up like you committed a crime.’

Williams replied, ‘Yes! I have to tell you something. And you know, I’m on the fifth floor. It’s called the memory unit. This is a floor, you know, you don’t remember anything. Like really?

‘And as far as me being able to go outside, I’m not allowed. You know, I have to stay in this building,’ she continued, and added she needs to be ‘permitted’ in order to go to the gym that is located on the third floor.

Wendy then emotionally stated that her money is ‘up in the air’ before saying, ‘This is my life.’

Towards the end of the interview, she shared that leaving her guardianship is ‘the number one most important thing.

During her trip to New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital on Monday from the assisted-living facility where she has been forced to live, the former talk show host was evaluated by a psychiatrist.

And on Monday, sources told TMZ that Williams received a perfect score on a ‘capacity test’ administered by the psychiatrist.

DailyMail.com has reached out to a representative for Williams for comment.

According to the sources, Wendy was administered a 10-item questionnaire that was designed to determine her awareness and decision-making abilities, and she scored 10 out of 10 on the test.

Although one test alone doesn’t give a full picture of her mental capacity, the fact that she passed the test with flying colors may indicate that she is far more aware than her guardian has indicated.

Williams had previously been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia.

However, sources clarified that the exam Williams underwent was not to dispute her dementia diagnosis. The results of the test will reportedly be shared with the judge who has been overseeing her guardianship.

In recent weeks, Wendy has been making an effort to speak to the press to make her case that she has improved and should be able to manage her care – and money – on her own.

Williams PR push is set to expand later this week when she is scheduled to make her first national television appearance since her dementia diagnosis.

It was previously reported that Williams’ visit to the hospital was preceded by NYPD officers visiting her at her assisted-living facility to perform a wellness check.

Sources told TMZ on Monday that Gina had allegedly ordered her trip to the hospital and the cognitive test.

According to TMZ, New York’s Adult Protective Services agency is now conducting an investigation into her guardianship and her stay at the facility, where she is confined to a restrictive memory unit, where she appears to have fewer privileges than patients on other floors.

Williams has denied that she has memory issues, and therefore she doesn’t think she should be deprived of her privileges. She also reportedly doesn’t have freedom of movement on that floor.

According to the publication, APS has been interviewing people close to the gossip monger, including her niece, Alex Finnie, whom employees reportedly interviewed on Monday.

Wendy reportedly spoken with the organization recently. The NYPD is also reportedly continuing to investigate the circumstances of her stay in the facility.

Williams will be making her first national television appearance since her shocking dementia diagnosis, ABC revealed on Sunday.

She will be joining the ladies of The View on Friday, March 14 – even as she wages a legal battle to end her guardianship.

Wendy has lately made attempts to speak out via phone from her assisted-living facility, where she has been kept on a restrictive memory unit that gives her few privileges and little right of movement.

Although Williams will be back on TV, it’s unclear if viewers will get to see her live, as ABC’s announcement indicates that she will be doing a phone interview with the View hosts, who include Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin.

However, she got a rare breath of fresh air last month when her guardianship and the facility allowed her to fly to Miami to celebrate her father’s 94th birthday for a few days.

Back in 2022, Williams was placed under a court-appointed guardianship after Wells Fargo reported several large withdrawals from her bank account that it deemed suspicious.

After Williams was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia in February 2024, Morrissey later said the gossip monger was ‘cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.’

But in recent months, a seemingly lucid Wendy has been disputing that she’s impaired and begging to regain her freedom.