Wendy Williams’ brother, Tommy Williams, claims the former talk show host is ‘stuck’ in a treatment facility and wants her released.
The TV personality, 59, is currently receiving treatment for frontotemporal dementia — which her son claims is ‘alcohol induced’ — and aphasia in a undisclosed facility in New York, where she’s reportedly been since April 2023.
‘I know that she is stuck and we are trying to unstick her. Her family is here and she doesn’t need a facility. We are here to take care of her,’ he told Us Weekly.
‘All I want for her is freedom. We have a father who would love to see her,’ he added.
He also expressed his frustration with not being able to see her, telling the publication: ‘We’re dealing with unknowns. We just want to be able to check in with her. I would fly up there [to New York], but where do I go? No one knows anything.’
Wendy Williams’ brother, Tommy Williams, claims the former talk show host, 59, is ‘stuck’ in a treatment facility and wants her released; they are seen together in an Instagram snap
Tommy added that communication between the TV host and her family has been difficult.
‘We can’t communicate unless someone patches us through,’ he revealed.
‘We wait for calls. I wait for calls from Wendy or my sister or whoever she can get to first and we can all hop on. When she makes that phone call [to us], we’re committed to listening and sharing for the moment.’
Tommy added that it ‘seems like forever’ since he’s seen his sister.
‘It’s because of the people who she is around. You can’t leave. You’re there as part of a program.’
‘It’s the one thing that is holding her and keeping her from communicating, traveling and doing all the things she likes to do.’
The care team for the star announced her diagnosis of Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) in a press release on Thursday. They said Williams had undergone ‘a battery of medical tests’ before arriving at the diagnosis.
The statement noted that Williams had been diagnosed back in 2023. The talk show host has reportedly been living in a treatment facility since April 2023.
The update came ahead of the February 24 premiere of a Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams? — which details her struggles with alcohol abuse and mental health in recent years — despite the star’s guardian’s lawsuit against the network.
The TV personality is currently receiving treatment for frontotemporal dementia and aphasia in an undisclosed facility in New York — where she’s reportedly been since April 2023
‘I know that she is stuck and we are trying to unstick her. Her family is here and she doesn’t need a facility. We are here to take care of her,’ Tommy told Us Weekly
!['All I want for her is freedom. We have a father who would love to see her,' he added. 'We're dealing with unknowns. We just want to be able to check in with her. I would fly up there [to New York], but where do I go? No one knows anything,' he stated](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/28/01/81801613-13133813-image-a-57_1709084268764.jpg "Brother of Wendy Williams speaks out about her struggle with dementia and aphasia, says she feels \"trapped\" in treatment facility and just wants her to be free 7")
‘All I want for her is freedom. We have a father who would love to see her,’ he added. ‘We’re dealing with unknowns. We just want to be able to check in with her. I would fly up there [to New York], but where do I go? No one knows anything,’ he stated
Tommy added that communication between the TV host and her family has been difficult. ‘We can’t communicate unless someone patches us through,’ he revealed
While Tommy did not appear in the docuseries, Wendy’s son Kevin Hunter Jr., 23, and her sister, Wanda Williams, participated.
In one scene Kevin claimed that his mom’s medical team thought her drinking ‘was starting to affect her headspace and her brain.’
‘So, I think they said it was alcohol-induced dementia,’ he concluded.
Tommy told Us Weekly that there was ‘naturally some concern’ among Wendy’s family in regards to her drinking habits.
‘It was obvious about her drinking. She was alone and her mental state, having been divorced and losing her mother and liquor, it was not a good mix,’ he shared, in reference to Wendy’s 2020 split from ex-husband Kevin Hunter Sr. and the death of her mom, Shirley Williams, during that same year.
‘She was very upset about losing her mother and very sad.’
Tommy added that despite her challenges her family can ‘figure it out and get her whatever she needs.’
Wendy spoke out about her recent health diagnoses for the first time in a statement issued last Friday.
‘I want to say I have immense gratitude for the love and kind words I have received after sharing my diagnosis of Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). Let me say, wow! Your response has been overwhelming,’ she shared in a statement released to The Associated Press.
‘The messages shared with me have touched me, reminding me of the power of unity and the need for compassion.’
The care team for the star announced her diagnosis of Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) in a press release on Thursday; she is seen February 21
In a new docuseries, Wendy’s son Kevin Hunter Jr., 23, stated his mom’s medical team thought the dementia was ‘alcohol-induced’; Wendy, Kevin Jr, and and her ex-husband Kevin Hunter seen in 2017
Wendy finalized her statement writing, ‘I continue to need personal space and peace to thrive. Please just know that your positivity and encouragement are deeply appreciated.’
Earlier on Tuesday Wendy’s best friend slammed the ailing TV host’s legal guardian, claiming that the woman tasked with taking care of her left her without ‘access to food’ – as she voiced her suspicions over Wendy’s recent dementia diagnosis.
Wendy was placed under a legal guardianship in May 2022, after her bank account said it had ‘strong reason to believe’ that she was of ‘unsound mind’ and was ‘the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.’
At the time, the court assigned someone to manage Wendy’s finances and health, and while their identity was not made public at first, TMZ recently revealed that Wendy’s guardian was a New York-based lawyer named Sabrina Morrissey.
But now, one of the star’s closest pals – Regina Shell, who has known Wendy since she was only 13 years old – has spoken out against her guardian.
During a recent appearance on Chris Cuomo’s NewsNation series, Cuomo, Regina claimed that the broadcaster had ‘no access to her money’ and had to ask permission from Sabrina for any purchase she wanted to make – including meals.
She alleged that this sometimes meant Wendy would go hours on end without eating, which left Regina so worried that she started ordering food for her from across the country.
‘When I was in New York and staying with Wendy in the summer, I noticed … she had no access to her money,’ Regina shared on Monday evening.
‘Every time she had to do anything that she had to pay for, she had to go through the guardian.
Lifetime released a shocking new documentary about her, titled Where Is Wendy Williams?, over the weekend, which details her struggles with alcohol and mental health in recent years
‘And she would call to order her breakfast at 7:30 in the morning with the guardian, and she would take the order, but the order wouldn’t show up until sometimes noon. So Wendy wouldn’t have any food.’
Regina said that when she returned home to Los Angeles, she began sending her ‘delivery service’ because she was nervous that Wendy ‘wasn’t getting’ enough to eat.
‘When I went back to LA, I would have to send her food from Los Angeles to New York for delivery service, because she wasn’t getting…’ she trailed off.
‘The communication wasn’t there, and she had no other access to money than this guardian.
Days ahead of the new documentary’s release, TMZ reported that Wendy’s guardian had filed a lawsuit against the parent company of Lifetime, A&E Television Networks.
Sabrina had asked the court for injunctive relief, indicating her request could have been an attempt to stop the network from airing the TV special – but a judge ultimately dismissed the case citing the First Amendment.
Filmmakers began following Wendy around in 2022 – at the time hoping to document her ‘comeback’ – but instead, they captured her tragic downward spiral and health decline.
In the documentary, the former TV legend appeared virtually unable to answer the producers’ repetitive questions, often seemed confused, and would ramble incoherently, break down in tears, or lash out at friends or family members.
Wendy was placed under a legal guardianship in May 2022, after her bank account said it had ‘strong reason to believe’ that she was of ‘unsound mind’ and was ‘the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation’; seen in 2019
It was certainly a vast difference from the once-fearless TV star who used to earn $10 million a season as the host of The Wendy Williams Show.
In late 2021, amid her multiple ailments, shattered marriage, and growing alcoholism, Wendy stepped away from her hosting job indefinitely.
In the months that followed, she made a slew of worrisome public appearances that saw her looking disheveled and often confused.
Now, Wendy hasn’t been seen publicly in more than a year, and according to the documentary, she’s been living in a treatment facility since last April.
