For more than a decade, Wendy Williams spilled her pop culture takes, dubbed “Hot Topics,” on her daytime talk show. During Friday’s episode of “The View,” she was the hot topic.
The TV legend, who claims she is trapped in a guardianship similar to Britney Spears’ long-running legal conservatorship, appeared on the nation’s No. 1 daytime talk show to plead her case to the panel.
Williams spoke to co-hosts Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, and Alyssa Farah Griffin during a pre-taped phone interview. (The show’s moderator, Oscar-winner Whoopi Goldberg, does not work on Fridays due to a contractual clause.)
“It was my choice to get an independent evaluation on my incapacitation, which– I don’t have it,” Williams said in the interview aired Friday, with Behar noting the talk show host sounded “OK.”
“I’ve been doing important things all of my life and these two people don’t look like me, they don’t dress like me, they don’t talk like me, they don’t act like me,” Williams said, referring to the guardians and the judge in her case, adding, “How dare they say I have incapacitation. I do not!”
“I need them to, on my knees, get off my neck,” Williams added.
Williams confirmed that she currently lives in a memory care unit.
“I stay in the bedroom the majority of the time,” said Williams, 60. The talk show host said that she is in “the memory unit floor where the people are 90 and 80 and 70. I’m 60.”
Hostin thanked Williams “for giving me my start” as a “legal eagle” on her radio show.
Wendy Williams says ‘I don’t want’ guardian Sabrina Morrissey
Before rising to become a household name on “Wendy,” Williams — with a format similar to Howard Stern — had radio shows in New York City and Philadelphia. She was known for feuds with celebrities, including an infamous back-and-forth with Whitney Houston in 2003. In 2008, she traded the airwaves for a seat at her iconic purple chair with the gossipy launch of her own talk show.
That recognizable seat where she spilled the tea is in “storage” with the rest of her belongings, Williams revealed.
“All of my clothing, all of my sneakers, all of my handbags, everything in storage. And yes, the fabulous purple chair is in storage but when it comes out of storage, I’m keeping it with me for my life,” Williams said, revealing she will put the fan favorite furniture in her apartment if she is released from the guardianship.
“I wish I was allowed to actually put on nice clothing and come see you in person, but I cannot,” Williams told the co-hosts, saying “you know I will” when Behar suggested she come visit the panel if she is released.
Williams also slammed Morrissey during “The View” interview.
“I don’t want Sabrina (Morrissey), period,” Williams said, stressing that she wants “to get out” of her guardianship. “It’s been over three years, and, you know, it’s time for my money and my life to get back to status quo.”
Wendy Williams went to NYC hospital for welfare check on Monday
Earlier this week, Williams was transported to a New York City hospital following a welfare check by the New York Police Department.
The NYPD “responded to a welfare check” at the senior living facility where she lives on Monday, a spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY. It continued: “EMS responded and transported a 60 year old female to an area hospital for evaluation.”
On Monday, Williams opened up about the welfare check in a phone interview on “Good Day New York” with host Rosanna Scotto.
“I passed with flying colors,” Williams told Scotto. “I want (to be) independently tested. That’s what I want, and that’s what I got,” adding “Look, it’s not that I’m scared to talk, it’s just under these circumstances, there are certain people that I don’t care to talk to or talk about, you know what I’m saying.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Williams’ guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, for comment. USA TODAY reached out to Williams’ caretaker Ginalisa Monterroso for comment on the status of her mental capacity tests.
Morrissey has said, through her lawyers, in court filings that the former radio show host is “cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated” due to the primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia with which she was diagnosed in 2023. However, in recent months, Williams, 60, has disputed the diagnoses in multiple interviews.
“Wendy Watchers,” Williams’ army of former viewers, were first teased with a potential “View” appearance earlier this month from ex-“Wendy” executive producer Suzanne Bass, who was known for her on-air banter with the host.
“Prepping a very special friend for her appearance @theviewabc to air this Friday. #freewendy,” Bass captioned a Sunday Instagram post that included a video of her seemingly on the phone with Williams.
‘The Wendy Williams Show’ was canceled in 2022
“The Wendy Williams Show,” which began in 2008, featured Williams’ on-air antics and controversial opinions on pop culture. The show was canceled in February 2022 to make way for “Sherri,” hosted by ex-“View” host Sherri Shepherd.
“Sherri” runs on Fox and broadcasters nationwide during Williams’ former time slot. Williams’ show was canceled during her 13th season with Fox and BET, distributed by Debmar-Mercury, after she went on medical leave during her ongoing battle with the autoimmune disorder Graves’ disease.
The cancellation followed a stretch of tumult for the legendary daytime talker. In 2019, Williams filed for divorce from ex-husband and former “Wendy” executive producer Kevin Hunter Sr., who helped build her media empire. In a 2019 interview with The New York Times Magazine, Williams seemingly confirmed media reports that Hunter cheated on her with a younger woman in their marital home in suburban New Jersey. She confirmed Hunter “has a daughter.”
She later released a pair of Lifetime projects: a biopic “Wendy Williams: The Movie” and documentary “Wendy Williams: What a Mess!” that discussed the downfall of her personal and professional courtship with Hunter.
“He inconvenienced my life with his attitude, a baby and a lot of affairs,” she told USA TODAY about Hunter in 2021. “And now I’m going to inconvenience his by letting him know that I’ve got the best apartment, I’ve got the best view, I’ve got the best concierge, I live the best life, I eat the best food. I have the best of the best.”
The pair share one son, Kevin Hunter Jr.
Contributing: Erin Jensen, KiMi Robinson
