Wendy Williams’ guardian claims that the former talk show host’s health is in severe decline.
In a Nov. 12 court filing obtained by The Post, attorneys for Williams’ guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, said that Williams, 60, “has become cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and incapacitated” from her dementia battle.
Morrissey is currently in a legal battle with Lifetime over the release of the documentary “Where Is Wendy Williams?,” which came out in February.
The filing claimed the defendants — Lifetime’s parent company, A&E Television Networks, Lifetime Entertainment Services, EOne Productions, Creature Films and the doc’s executive producer Mark Ford — “cruelly took advantage of [Williams’] cognitive and physical decline by creating and publishing a documentary at a time when [Williams] was highly vulnerable and clearly incapable of consenting to be filmed.”
Williams was diagnosed with primary aggressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia — the same medical issues that Bruce Willis is battling — in 2023.
Since May 2022, she’s been been under a court ordered guardianship that oversees her health and finances after her bank, Wells Fargo, claimed she was “incapacitated.”
Morrissey’s legal team said the defendants “intentionally manipulated and goaded” Williams “to trigger strong emotional reactions and acquire embarrassing footage.”
In the filing, Morrissey’s attorneys pleaded to the court to redact aspects of Williams’ “health, familial relationships, and finances” that are outlined in the case to protect her privacy.
The defendants’ defense was also listed in the filing. They claimed the case arises from Morrissey’s “misguided efforts to attempt to excuse her own failure to protect her ward.”
They also claimed they had Williams’ “consent, input, and participation” to make the documentary before she was diagnosed with dementia and before she had a guardian.
In the filing, Morrissey and the defendants requested a trial that they anticipate will last two to four weeks.
The Post has reached out to Williams’ rep for comment.
Morrissey previously filed a lawsuit about the doc in September, alleging that Williams was “highly vulnerable and clearly incapable of consenting to being filmed, much less humiliated and exploited.”
In response, the defendants filed countersuits against Morrissey in the case, which is now being handled by the federal court.
Before the Lifetime documentary came out, Williams’ family told People that the “Think Like A Man Too” star is in a care facility. Her loved ones also claimed they can only speak to her when she calls them.
Williams hosted “The Wendy Williams Show” from 2008 to 2022.
In addition to the aphasia and dementia diagnoses, Williams has dealt with a myriad of other health issues including Graves’ disease and Lymphedema. She’s also struggled with alcohol and cocaine addiction.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.