Wendy Williams’ multimillion dollar New York City penthouse has been sold by her guardian for a loss after the host was deemed ‘incapacitated’ amid her dementia battle.
The three-bedroom, three-bathroom Manhattan home sold on May 10 for $3.75 million, a loss of $822,000 from its purchase price of $4.5million in July 2021, per the New York Post.
Williams, 59, was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in 2023. The year prior Williams was placed under a conservatorship after Wells Fargo froze her accounts due to allegations from her financial adviser at the time, claiming she was of ‘unsound mind’, according to court filings.
Records obtained by the publication indicate Williams was deemed ‘incapacitated’ which ‘necessitated’ a guardian’s involvement in the process of selling her 2,400 square feet penthouse.
An insider said: ‘Wendy’s dream has always been to live in Manhattan in a dream apartment but never got a chance to do so. It is a very unfortunate situation.’
Wendy Williams ‘ multimillion dollar New York City penthouse has been sold by her guardian for a loss after the host was deemed ‘incapacitated’ amid her dementia battle
The three-bedroom, three-bathroom Manhattan home sold on May 10 for $3.75 million, a loss of $822,000 from its purchase price of $4.5million in July 2021 – Williams seen in the home during a docuseries scene
Dailymail.com has reached out to Williams’ representative for comment.
In March it was revealed a lien has been applied towards the NYC home, as she owes $568,451.57 in back taxes.
According to legal docs reviewed by TMZ, federal officials said that the six-figure sum was over unpaid balances for 2021 and 2019.
The lien was first generated this past January, and reported to officials with New York City’s finance department the following month.
The outlet noted that it was possible Williams or her camp have addressed the situation, but it wasn’t reflected in the records it reviewed.
Williams’ financial guardian Sabrina Morrissey had been appointed around two years ago, which precedes the timeframe the tax balances were not tended to, according to the outlet.
Williams’ health woes were the focal point of a Lifetime documentary titled Where is Wendy Williams?, which focused on how Williams’ alcohol consumption played a part in her downturn in health.
New details of Williams’ health decline have been released by different groups, as Williams’ caretaker issued a statement February 22 saying that doctors have diagnosed the TV personality with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
The health struggles ‘have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life’ and have behavioral and cognitive impacts, according to the statement.
Records obtained by the publication indicate Williams was deemed ‘incapacitated’ which ‘necessitated’ a guardian’s involvement in the process of selling her 2,400 square feet penthouse
Williams regularly shared snaps from the lavish home in the Financial District
‘Wendy is still able to do many things for herself,’ the statement attributed to her care team read. ‘Most importantly she maintains her trademark sense of humor and is receiving the care she requires to make sure she is protected and that her needs are addressed.
‘She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and good wishes being sent her way.’
The statement on Williams’ health was issued on PR Newswire. A representative listed on the release, Jennifer Hanley, referred questions back to the statement when contacted by The Associated Press.
The announcement came a day after a cover story in People magazine quoted Williams’ family about the nature of her struggles, ahead of a Lifetime documentary set to air Saturday.
‘The people who love her cannot see her,’ the magazine quoted Williams’ sister Wanda as saying. ‘I think the big (question) is: How the hell did we get here?’ The family said a court-appointed legal guardian was the only person with unfettered access to Williams.
The article said the Lifetime documentary crew, which set out in 2022 to chronicle Williams’ comeback, stopped filming in April 2023 when, her manager ‘and jeweler’ Will Selby says in footage for the film, she entered a facility to treat ‘cognitive issues.’
Her son says in the documentary that doctors had connected her cognitive issues to alcohol use, People reported. Williams’ family told People they don´t know where she is and cannot call her themselves, but she can call them.
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration describes FTD as a group of brain disorders caused by degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain that affects behavior, language and movement.
Williams, 59, was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in 2023. The year prior Williams was placed under a conservatorship. Pictured in 2018 in Atlanta
The health struggles ‘have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life’ and have behavioral and cognitive impacts, according to the statement
Aphasia, a brain disorder that can lead to problems speaking or understanding words, can be a symptom of it. The association describes frontotemporal degeneration as ‘an inevitable decline in functioning,’ with an average life expectancy of seven to 13 years after the onset of symptoms.
FTD usually occurs in people in their 40s, 50s and early 60s. It can affect a person´s personality, causing a loss of inhibition or inappropriate behavior. It is sometimes mistaken for depression or bipolar disorder, and can take years to diagnose.
There are no treatments to slow or stop the disease, but some interventions can help manage symptoms.
The association was involved in the disclosure of actor Bruce Willis’ diagnosis in February 2023, hosting a statement posted by the actor’s family.
‘We thank Wendy Williams for having the courage to make her diagnosis public and raise awareness of the disease,’ association CEO Susan Dickinson said in a statement. ‘We know that a diagnosis like this can be heartbreaking, but she is not alone. While there may not be a cure, every day we are working to improve care and research into treatments for this disease.’
The February 22 statement from Williams’ caretaker credited Weill Cornell Medicine in New York with the care and expertise Williams received. Weill Cornell declined comment.
Williams rose to fame in part due to her no-boundaries approach to her life, which included sharing personal details about her health, plastic surgery and cocaine addiction – the subject of her 2003 memoir, Wendy’s Got the Heat.
A hallmark of The Wendy Williams Show, which competed for viewers with Ellen DeGeneres’ show, was her signature phrase, ‘How you doin´?’
She transitioned to television after a successful career as a radio host, known for her hot takes on gossip and skewering of celebrities, including a contentious 2003 interview with Whitney Houston.
In 2022, Williams’ self-titled daytime talk show ended because of her ongoing health issues. Sherri Shepherd, who filled in for Williams as a guest host, received her own show.
Williams said in 2018 that she had been diagnosed years before with Graves´ disease, which leads to the overproduction of thyroid hormones and can cause wide-ranging symptoms and affect overall health.
The producers revealed their concerns about the TV host’s ‘dire conditions’ under her guardianship during production.
Executive producers Mark Ford and Erica Hanson said they were ‘very worried’ about Williams’ circumstances, which included the star living alone without any food in her refrigerator, during a panel discussion in Hollywood on Wednesday, per People.
‘Towards the end of the documentary, [we] were very, very worried and saying to her management, who was the only other person that was coming into her apartment on a daily basis, ‘Something has to be done to help her, this is getting very dire and scary,’ Ford explained, per the outlet.
At the time of filming, the producers were not made aware of William’s frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis, Ford claimed.
‘The deeper we got into it, we didn’t want to let go of Wendy until we got her back in touch with her family,’ he added. ‘Because we felt that at a certain point that’s who’s going to be there for her to care for her.’
Ford also claimed Williams’ legal and financial guardian Sabrina Morrissey was ‘not responding to any kind of calls for help.’
DailyMail reached out to Morrissey for comment.
In early 2022, Williams was placed under a conservatorship after Wells Fargo froze her accounts due to allegations from her financial adviser at the time, claiming she was of ‘unsound mind’, according to court filings.
Williams rose to fame in part due to her no-boundaries approach to her life, which included sharing personal details about her health, plastic surgery and cocaine addiction. Pictured last year in NYC
On February 20, Morrissey initiated a lawsuit aiming to prevent the airing of the 4.5-hour docuseries.
She criticized the network’s documentary, alleging that it ‘shamelessly exploits [Williams] and portrays her in an extremely demeaning and undignified manner.’
Morrissey filed the lawsuit under temporary seal (which keeps details in the case protected from the public) last month, but the docs were unsealed and reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, revealing explosive accusations in the case.
‘This blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman with a serious medical condition who is beloved by millions within and outside of the African American community is disgusting, and it cannot be allowed,’ the legal team for Williams’ guardian told the court.
Williams’ guardian Morrissey told the court that the talk show host ‘did not have the capacity to consent,’ according to THR, and producers did not get her consent, as her court-appointed guardian, to produce it.
Williams was misled by producers into thinking that the documentary would be a ‘positive and beneficial’ project for her public image and reputation, the suit stated.
According to the outlet, it ‘remains unknown’ who formed the company that collaborated on the network to produce the four-and-a-half hour doc, which garnered more than 500,000 viewers over its two-night premiere on February 24 and 25.
The televised special on the embattled celeb premiered to strong ratings, as Lifetime touted its best numbers in two years for a nonfiction project.
Among the people listed as its executive producers included Williams, her son Kevin Hunter Jr. and manager William Selby, according to THR.
Morrissey brought the lawsuit in February in New York County Supreme Court in an effort to get a temporary restraining order on airing the documentary, which was initially granted before an appeals court overturned the decision, allowing it to air, according to the outlet.
In information that was previously kept under seal, Appeals Court Justice Peter H. Moulton cited ‘impermissible prior restraint on speech that violates the First Amendment of the Constitution’ as his legal rationale to allow Lifetime and its partners to broadcast the documentary.
Footage on the controversial project was taped in conjunction with a January 2023 business deal, the outlet reported, citing the newly-unsealed complaint.
Morrissey said in the suit that Williams at the time did not have the capacity to agree to such a deal, as she had been put into a guardianship the year prior.
Williams was ‘incapable of managing her own business and personal affairs, and indeed, was placed into a guardianship and under the supervision of this court,’ her guardian said in the legal complaint.
Morrissey said in the legal complaint that Selby had misled her into granting permission to move forward with the project, as it would depict Williams in a positive light ‘like a phoenix rising from the ashes’ following years of illness that led to her show being cancelled.
