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The documentary of a lifetime Where is Wendy Williams? began airing on Saturday, February 25, and in its first two parts began to address many of the questions that have existed about the talk show host’s whereabouts and well-being over the past few years.
Although the original intention of the documentary is to chronicle williamsUpon his return via a new podcast, it is immediately clear that the presenter is not fit to work. Her manager and friend Will Shelby guides her through this process, which involves several promotional photo shoots in hopes of landing a deal for this non-existent podcast. The documentary follows her time with Shelby, as well as her publicist, Shawn Zanotti, as she struggles to launch a project that will generate some kind of income. Interviews with friends and family, including Williams’ son Kevin and his nephews, also help provide clearer context about what the host’s final years have been like.
These are some of the most notable revelations from the first two parts of the documentary.
A common thread of the documentary is Williams’ battle with alcoholism, which became evident in the opening moments of the show. “I love vodka,” she says, then points out that her sister Wanda and her son Kevin have an aversion to her drinking, which creates a rift in their relationship.
According to Williams’ longtime friend Regina Shell, she began abusing alcohol in 2018 during the dissolution of her marriage due to her husband Kevin Hunter’s infidelity. She “was causing me to drink more than usual. “She sometimes drank, but when she was going through the tribulation with Kevin, she was definitely numb.” After that period, Williams’ family admitted her to a rehab center in Florida in 2019, but according to her nephew Travis Finnie, executives at The Wendy Williams Show He wanted her back in New York. As a result, she began living in a sober house in New York, which she announced on her show in March of that year.
When pressed by the documentary’s interviewer about the motivation behind her drinking, Williams repeatedly downplayed the issue with matter-of-fact responses, saying that she drinks “because I can” and pointing out that everyone else drinks, so why can’t she?
Throughout filming, Williams’ manager, Shelby, attempts to curb her addiction, sending her to a treatment center for two months at the beginning of the documentary’s production and then getting rid of the bottles of alcohol she continually finds strewn throughout her apartment. . During a dinner scene with her management team, Shelby privately instructs her waiter to ignore Williams’ drink order and bring him a virgin cocktail instead.
“Kevin doesn’t want his mom to use any substances,” Shelby says. “He has a no alcohol policy. He has always stressed that to me. He does not want her to drink even a drop of liquor.” The episode concludes with his son Kevin saying that without proper care, he fears his mother “could die.”
In May 2020, the show’s disc jockey, DJ Boof, who had been helping Williams broadcast remotely from his New York City apartment, found the host unresponsive. According to the documentary, Boof called Williams’ ex-husband, who then called an ambulance to take her to the hospital, where she received several life-saving blood transfusions. After this incident, DJ Boof left his position with The Wendy Williams Show when he returned to the studio months later.
Williams’ niece, Alex Finnie, revealed that she was with her aunt the day it was announced that The Wendy Williams Show had been officially canceled in February 2022 after months of the host’s absence. “I said, ‘Sit down. The show no longer exists. The show is over. now it’s sherri [Shepherd] who is in your time slot. The Wendy Williams Show since you know, it’s done,’” Finnie remembers telling her aunt, who she says didn’t believe the news. “She would still come out and say, ‘I’m getting ready for a new season,’ and then it took her a little while (weeks, months) to really understand where things were. “That’s how it developed.”
Early in the documentary, Shelby says she has noticed Williams becoming “more aggressive,” which is shown throughout the episodes as she criticizes those around her, including a nail technician, a driver, and her management team. At one point, she tells her publicist Shawn Zanotti that she needs liposuction and calls her “dumb” and she becomes erratic when Zanotti does not purchase the correct vaporizer. Her nephew Travis Finnie notes that he noticed a change in her aunt’s personality over the past ten years.
In February 2022, Williams’ bank, Wells Fargo, stated that it believed Wendy was a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation” after staying with her family in Miami, Florida. Wells Fargo successfully requested that Williams be placed under independent conservatorship, restricting her access to her money. “A judge and three doctors say my money is still stuck in Wells Fargo and I’m going to tell you what, if it happens to me, it could happen to you,” she says.
Williams’ son, Kevin, rejected the claims made by the bank and explained the charges made while he was caring for his mother in Florida. “As you can imagine, it’s not a cheap lifestyle. The court tried to frame it as if I was making all these charges for my own happiness. “My mom has never been a stingy person, whether it was flying her around on private planes or even paying for dates,” she said. Williams’ nephew, Travis Finnie, added that the purchases the bank questioned amounted to only $100,000, which he explains is about what Williams would normally spend on a birthday party for her son. “It’s very questionable that they would have a court case and take away her mother’s care,” Finnie said.
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