Former talk show host Wendy Williams was recently spotted in Florida, USA, interacting with fans, raising questions amid ongoing disputes about her health and guardianship. Diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023, Wendy was labeled “permanently incapacitated” by her court-appointed guardian.
Taking to his Instagram page on Sunday (December 15), self-proclaimed “news personality” Antoine Edwards shared a video of Wendy sitting in the back of a car.
In the viral clip, which has amassed nearly 45,000 views, the 60-year-old seemed cheerful, smiling as she picked up her food order and expressing gratitude to who appeared to be her employees.
Antoine wrote in the caption: “#WendyWilliams spotted outside popular Fort Lauderdale restaurant, Sista Sara’s Shonuff Oysters with her nephew Travis Finnie.”
Former talk show host Wendy Williams was recently spotted in Florida, USA
“It was recently reported Wendy was ‘permanently incapacitated’ following her dementia diagnosis. She looks GOOD.”
The video sparked different reactions as an Instagram user commented: “She looks and sounds normal.”
A person wrote: “I hope her family fights like Hell for her. We miss you, Wendy!”
Someone else penned: “You can tell she immediately got uncomfortable once she noticed the camera.”
“I hope Wendy playing this role for all the things going on around her I don’t want her to be down and out,” a netizen added.
A separate individual chimed in: “Don’t believe the hype. Continue keeping her in prayer.”
She was interacting with fans, raising questions amid ongoing disputes about her health and guardianship
The viral clip comes after a family insider reportedly claimed that Wendy was “more clear now than she’s ever been,” following her guardian’s claim that she was “permanently incapacitated.”
Last month, attorneys for Wendy’s guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, claimed in new filings that the media star “has become cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.”
Nevertheless, a source close to the TV host’s family told The Daily Mail on December 2: “She is more clear now than she’s ever been throughout the guardianship, which is a problem for some.”
The Wendy Williams Show host was reportedly described in lawyer Sabrina’s recent filing as “an acclaimed entertainer who, tragically, has been afflicted by early-onset dementia and, as a result, has become cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.”
The filing further stated: “In January 2022, after becoming aware of a pattern of disturbing events concerning (Wendy’s) welfare and finances, Wells Fargo took the highly unusual step of initiating a guardianship proceeding on its own initiative in the Supreme Court of New York, New York County (the ‘Guardianship Proceeding’), to seek the court appointment of an independent guardian for (Wendy’s) financial affairs.”
Sabrina’s legal team included a plea asking the court to protect Wendy’s privacy by redacting some aspects of her “health, familial relationships, and finances” already outlined in the case.
Diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023, Wendy was labeled “permanently incapacitated” by her court-appointed guardian
In her filing, Sabrina requested that the court approve a motion to hide certain non-public information from legal documents associated with Wendy’s guardianship case, Bored Panda previously reported.
Sabrina, who serves as Wendy’s legal guardian, and her legal team said: “We respectfully request that the Court grant Plaintiff’s motion for limited redactions to protect non-public information from the Guardianship Proceeding that has been placed under seal by the court overseeing that proceeding.”
In 2022, Wells Fargo froze the media star’s bank accounts and requested temporary financial guardianship over her, claiming she was mentally unfit to manage her finances.
However, a court did not grant Wells Fargo direct guardianship; instead, Sabrina was appointed to oversee Wendy’s affairs.
In February, Sabrina unsuccessfully attempted to prevent Lifetime, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, from releasing the documentary Where is Wendy Williams?.
The lawyer claimed at the time that the documentary exploited the famous broadcaster’s vulnerable state due to her dementia diagnosis.
The viral clip comes after a family insider reportedly claimed that Wendy was “more clear now than she’s ever been”
Despite these claims, a judge ruled against the motion, stating that blocking the documentary’s release would violate the US First Amendment’s free speech protections.
Sabrina went on to file a lawsuit against Lifetime and the production companies — Entertainment One Reality Productions, Lifetime Entertainment Services, A&E Television Networks, Creature Films, and Mark Ford — days later before amending her complaint in September.
The case was then reportedly moved to the New York, USA, Supreme Court in October. On November 22, Wendy’s lawyers submitted a demand for trial by jury, as per the British news outlet.
In the Where is Wendy Williams? documentary, which was released in February, Wendy frequently displayed signs of her declining health, struggling to maintain her balance and often needing assistance to walk.
Her emotional state could be seen shifting dramatically, ranging from cheerful and animated to visibly frustrated and tearful in a short span.
Wendy was openly filmed discussing her struggles, admitting at one point, “I love vodka,” while referencing her long history of alcohol dependence.
In the Where is Wendy Williams? documentary, which was released in February, Wendy frequently displayed signs of her declining health
Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning — to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities, the National Institute on Aging explains.
According to Dementia UK, frontotemporal dementia is an umbrella term for a group of dementias that mainly affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for personality, behavior, language, and speech.
Doctor Alison Dawson, a Senior Research Fellow based in the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Stirling, told Bored Panda in an email: “Many countries have dementia strategies which set out their ambitions on caring for people living with dementia, but these are not always uniformly enacted.
“Many countries have legal measures which are designed to protect people who have temporarily or permanently lost the capacity to make fully informed decisions for themselves.”
The expert further revealed: “Alzheimer’s is the most common form of later life dementia and people who develop this form of dementia may start by having problems remembering details, but behavioral changes are common early symptoms in some other forms of dementia.
“Not everybody who is living with a form of dementia will become incapacitated even after many years, but for some, e.g. those who develop Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, this could happen within months of onset.”
“Hope Wendy makes a full comeback,” a reader commented
