Wendy Williams, the renowned former talk show host, has been diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), as confirmed by her medical team on February 22, 2024. The 59-year-old’s diagnosis, made last year, has profoundly affected her daily life and overall well-being.
In a recent statement, her team shared that Williams continues to manage certain aspects of her life independently while receiving essential medical care.
This revelation comes just ahead of the highly anticipated release of Where is Wendy Williams?, a two-part documentary airing on Lifetime on February 24 and 25. The film explores her life challenges following the conclusion of The Wendy Williams Show in 2022, marking the end of a 13-year television run.
Williams’ team disclosed their decision to publicly address her condition amid growing speculation and misinformation regarding her health, as reported by NPR on the same day.
Health Challenges and Conservatorship of Wendy Williams
Wendy’s health issues have been a significant factor in the cancellation of her talk show. Besides her recent diagnoses, she has been contending with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that impacts the thyroid.
Concerns surrounding her financial stability and personal safety led a New York court to impose guardianship over her finances in 2022. This decision followed allegations from Wells Fargo, which described Williams as an “incapacitated person” vulnerable to financial exploitation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Since then, Sabrina Morrissey, the court-appointed guardian, has been overseeing her affairs. Nonetheless, Williams has expressed her dissent against this arrangement, asserting her capability to manage her own life without such oversight.
A report from the New York Post in February 2025 indicated that Morrissey sought a new medical evaluation to review Williams’ health status. Following this, in March 2025, Williams underwent a psychological assessment at Lenox Hill Hospital, achieving a score of “10 out of 10,”suggesting her cognitive functions were intact.
Aphasia, affecting around 180,000 Americans predominantly over the age of 65, involves challenges in communicating verbally and in writing, often resulting from strokes or traumatic brain injuries. It can also lead to dementia in some cases, as noted by the Mayo Clinic.
Frontotemporal dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that significantly affects the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes, resulting in changes in behavior, judgment, and language skills. Williams is believed to have primary progressive aphasia (PPA), specifically impacting her communication abilities, as outlined by the Alzheimer’s Association in 2024.
While treatments for both aphasia and FTD remain limited, speech and language therapy can help mitigate symptoms. Furthermore, experimental approaches, including brain stimulation, are under investigation for aphasia, while medications may alleviate symptoms of FTD, albeit without halting its progression.
Wendy Williams’ situation has drawn parallels to Britney Spears’ journey, who famously ended her conservatorship in 2021. Legal experts like Diane Dimond, author of We’re Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong, suggest that securing a determined legal team could enhance Williams’ chances of regaining control over her personal and financial matters, as highlighted by the New York Post in March 2024.
Currently, Williams resides in a memory care facility at The Coterie in Hudson Yards, reportedly lacking access to electronic equipment and only having a landline for communication.
Advocates such as Ginalisa Monterroso from the Connect Care Advisory Group argue that Williams’ condition does not justify the stringent guardianship measures currently in place. Monterroso, who has been involved with Williams since December 2023, remarked:
“That’s not Wendy. Even just look at her operate her scooter. Can an incapacitated person do that?”
Monterroso further suggested that some of Williams’ health issues might stem from alcohol-related dementia or cognitive decline related to thyroid dysfunction, which may be reversible in specific circumstances. She has formally reached out to New York’s Adult Protective Services to request a reevaluation of Williams’ guardianship.
If Wendy Williams’ new legal representation successfully contests her guardianship, she could potentially regain independence akin to Britney Spears’ experience. Experts assert that employing civil rights attorneys rather than solely elder care lawyers may be vital in such cases, according to discussions in the New York Post.
“You go in on a civil rights issue,”Dimond explained. “There’s a growing problem of people winding up in these situations, but thankfully, there’s sometimes a way out.”
With an updated legal team and increasing public attention, the forthcoming months are pivotal in determining whether Wendy Williams can achieve autonomy in her personal affairs once again.