Wendy Williams’ family wants her released from the facility where she is currently receiving treatment for frontotemporal dementia and aphasia.
“I know that she is stuck and we are trying to unstick her. Her family is here and she doesn’t need a facility. We are here to take care of her,” Wendy’s brother, Tommy Williams, exclusively tells Us Weekly. “All I want for her is freedom. We have a father who would love to see her.”
Williams’ dementia and aphasia diagnoses were revealed in a Thursday, February 22, press release. The update came ahead of the Saturday, February 24, premiere of the four-part Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?
The docuseries aired despite a lawsuit filed by Wendy’s guardian against A&E Television Networks. In court documents obtained by Us on Thursday, an individual named Sabrina Morrisey requested a temporary restraining order and claimed she was acting in her capacity as temporary guardian of W.W.H., presumed to be Wendy Williams Hunter. A judge ruled on Friday, February 23, that the documentary could air as planned despite the ongoing lawsuit.
The former talk show host, 59, was placed under financial guardianship in May 2022 after her bank Wells Fargo alleged that she seemed to be the victim of financial exploitation. The decision came three months after it was announced that Wendy would take a hiatus from season 13 of her titular talk show.
Amid the conservatorship drama, Tommy tells Us it’s been “extremely difficult” for his family.
“We’re dealing with unknowns,” he says. “We just want to be able to check in with her. I would fly up there [to New York], but where do I go? No one knows anything.”
To make matters worse, Tommy notes that communication between the TV host and her siblings is sporadic.
“We can’t communicate unless someone patches us through,” he reveals. “We wait for calls. I wait for calls from Wendy or my sister or whoever she can get to first and we can all hop on. When she makes that phone call [to us], we’re committed to listening and sharing for the moment.”
The concerned brother adds that it “seems like forever’ since he’s seen Wendy.
“It’s because of the people who she is around. You can’t leave. You’re there as part of a program,” he says. “It’s the one thing that is holding her and keeping her from communicating, traveling and doing all the things she likes to do.”
While Tommy doesn’t appear in Where Is Wendy Williams?, other members of Wendy’s family participated, including her sister, Wanda Williams, and her son, Kevin Hunter Jr.
During the docuseries, Kevin, 23, recalled his mom’s medical team stating that Wendy’s drinking “was starting to affect her headspace and her brain.”
He added: “So, I think they said it was alcohol-induced dementia.”
Tommy acknowledges that there was “naturally some concern” among Wendy’s family members about her drinking habits.
“It was obvious about her drinking. She was alone and her mental state, having been divorced and losing her mother and liquor, it was not a good mix,” he says, referring to Wendy’s 2020 split from ex-husband Kevin Hunter Sr. and the death of her mom, Shirley Williams, that same year. “She was very upset about losing her mother and very sad.”
Despite Wendy’s challenges, Tommy says her family can “figure it out and get her whatever she needs.”
Wendy broke her silence on her recent diagnosis in a Friday statement to Us.
“I want to say I have immense gratitude for the love and kind words I have received after sharing my diagnosis of Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD),” she said. “Let me say, wow! Your response has been overwhelming.”
The beloved TV personality added that she needs “personal space and peace to thrive” but told fans that their “positivity and encouragement are deeply appreciated.”
