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Wendy Williams spotted for the first time since revealing aphasia, dementia diagnoses
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Date:2025-04-22 16:45:54
"Where Is Wendy Williams?" Fans of the former talk show host who are still wondering this following the February release of a two-part Lifetime documentary on Williams have some answers now.
Williams, 60, has been spotted out and about for the first time since her private legal and medical issues became public earlier this year.
A Newark, New Jersey business shared last week that the former host of the long-running "The Wendy Williams Show," who has not been active on social media since 2022, stopped by to shop at the herbal supplement and holistic health product shop.
Bolingo Balance owner Víctor Bowman posted photos with Williams and her 24-year-old son, Kevin Hunter Jr., on Instagram and Facebook. "Wendy Williams come to my store," Bowman wrote in his Facebook caption. "Much love Queen."
Williams' son responded with an emoji-filled Instagram comment that seemed to indicate his wishes for his mom's well-being: "🙏🏽📈🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽."
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This outing was the first time Williams has been photographed in public since her team revealed in a February press release that she had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. A few days later, the TV personality's declining health was the subject of "Where Is Wendy Williams?"
The docuseries shows Williams struggling with her health until she is eventually admitted to a treatment facility. In it, her family opens up about her dementia diagnosis while arguing for changes to the guardianship that she was placed under in 2022.
What was Wendy Williams diagnosed with?
In the doc, Hunter claimed his mother was diagnosed with "alcohol-induced" dementia: "They basically said that because she was drinking so much, it was starting to affect her headspace and her brain," he said.
Her diagnosis, according to her team's February press release, was primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
According to Alzheimers.gov, frontotemporal dementia is characterized by changes "in thinking and behaviors" such as movement, language and emotions that is caused by "a group of disorders that gradually damage the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes." The cause is "not yet fully understood."
Aphasia is a "disorder (that) impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing," per the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. It's caused by "damage to one or more of the language areas of the brain," which can be due to a stroke, head injury, brain tumor or a progressive neurological disease.
Wendy Williams was 'under 24-hour medical care,' her guardian said
In the doc, Williams' family also repeatedly criticized the court for appointing a guardian in 2022 to oversee her finances, stating they'd prefer a family member be in the position.
In February, the identity of Williams' temporary guardian – Sabrina Morrissey, an attorney who focuses on guardianships – became public when she filed a lawsuit against A+E Network in an attempt to halt the release of "Where Is Wendy Williams?" Morrissey argued in her filing that Williams "was not, and is not, capable of consenting to the terms" of the contract for filming the documentary.
At the time of the lawsuit, Williams was "under 24-hour medical care and supervision," Morrissey's filing claimed.
Morrissey, who had seen the unreleased documentary's trailer but not the project in its entirety, alleged that "the documentary exploits (Williams') medical condition to portray her in a humiliating, degrading manner and in a false light."
In response, an attorney for A+E Networks argued Morrissey tried to shut down the documentary only after seeing the way Williams' guardianship was depicted in the trailer.
Lifetime, which is owned by A&E Networks, proceeded with airing "Where Is Wendy Williams?" on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 after an appellate judge said blocking it from airing would be an "impermissible prior restraint on speech" in violation of the First Amendment. The case is ongoing in New York.
In fall 2021, "Wendy" experienced several production delays and employed a rotating cast of guest hosts to take over the show.
However, "Wendy" was canceled in 2022 following Williams' medical leave during a battle with the autoimmune disorder Graves' disease. Williams has since maintained a low profile.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow
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