Wendy Williams’ guardian ‘horrified’ by ‘disgusting’ documentary – Entertainment
BANG Showbiz – Mar 15, 2024 / 8:48 am | Story: 477250
Photo: BANG Showbiz. All rights reserved.
Wendy Williams’ court-appointed guardian was “horrified” by a “disgusting” new documentary about the TV star and attempted to stop its release.
Sabrina Morrissey was placed in charge of Williams’ affairs as she battles health conditions including primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and in February she filed a lawsuit against the Lifetime channel’s parent company, A E Television Networks asking for a temporary restraining to stop the broadcast of ‘Where Is Wendy Williams?’
Now the court documents have now revealed Morrissey was “horrified” when she saw the trailer and branded the film “blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman”.
In the court documents – which were previously sealed but were made public on Thursday (14.03.25) – Morrissey stated: “The Trailer makes clear that the documentary is anything but positive.
“Instead, it cruelly portrays (Williams) as deeply confused and erratic, all while she is patently disabled due to her medical conditions. It is readily apparent that the complete promised documentary would even further portray [Williams] in a humiliating and demeaning manner.
“This blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman with a serious medical condition who is beloved by millions within and outside of African American community is disgusting, and it cannot be allowed.”
Morrissey added she feared the film would “ruin her [Wiliams’] legacy, and eviscerate the remaining earning potential which she has by portraying her as a drunkard and a laughingstock.”
The temporary restraining order was granted but it was later overturned by a superior court and the documentary aired over two days on February 24 and 25.
In the court papers, Morrissey also claimed Williams’ condition meant she was “not capable of consenting” to the filming but Morrissey allowed the project to go ahead as long as it was given guardian approval. However, she alleges she was not given any sign off on the documentary before the trailer’s release.
A statement from Lifetime – obtained by People – insisted the TV company wants the rest of the case’s papers to be unsealed. It stated: We look forward to the unsealing of our papers as well, as they tell a very different story.”
Mark Ford, the executive producer of the documentary, previously told People they had been given the green light by Williams’ guardian. He said: “Wendy’s attorneys and the guardianship attorneys were consulted and signed off on [ the project].
“The film was signed off on by Wendy, her management, her attorneys, the guardianship. They were aware of the filming all the way through. So, we did go by the book and get all the permissions that we needed to get.
“We went into this film thinking it was one thing, and the truth turned out to be another. Once we started seeing the truth of the situation, we couldn’t ignore it. And the film had to go in the direction of the truth.”
‘Where Is Wendy Williams?’ was filmed between August 2022 and April 2023 following Williams as she prepared to make a comeback with a new podcast, but was halted after the TV star suffered serious health issues and Williams’ affairs in May 2022. The TV star is believed to still be living in a care facility.
Williams, 59, was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia – a rare condition that affects the nervous system and inhibits the ability to communicate – and frontotemporal dementia – which affects personality, behaviour and language – last year.
BANG Showbiz – Mar 15, 2024 / 6:57 am | Story: 477234
Photo: BANG Showbiz. All rights reserved.
Oprah Winfrey stepped down from the board of directors of WW so she could focus on making a TV special about weight loss medications.
The 70-year-old TV titan recently confirmed plans to make her first primetime special in three years – which she agreed to because of the “very personal” subject matter – and she has now revealed she had to step away from her role with the diet company previously known as WeightWatchers to avoid a “conflict of interest”.
During an appearance on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, Oprah explained: “I decided that because this special was really important to me and I wanted to be able to talk about whatever I wanted to talk about, and Weight Watchers is now in the business of being a weight health company that also administers drug medications for weight. I did not want to have the appearance of any conflict of interest.
“So I resigned from the board and donated all of my shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. So nobody can say, ”Oh, she’s doing that special, she’s making money, promoting’. No, you cannot say that.”
Oprah started losing weight after undergoing knee surgery in 2021 and later admitted she used a weight loss drug but she insisted it was only to help her maintain her figure and avoid “yo-yoing”.
The broadcaster will sit down with medical experts and patients to…
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