Wendy Williams asked loyal watchers “how you doin’?” on her daytime talk show for over a decade. Now, viewers will get an inside look at how the daytime legend’s doing in a new Lifetime documentary.
The documentary comes on the heels of Williams’ frontotemporal dementia and aphasia announcement Thursday. That same day, Williams‘ temporary guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, filed a lawsuit under seal against Lifetime in a New York state court, USA TODAY confirmed.
The case says Morrissey is “acting in her capacity as Temporary Guardian of W.W.H.” with the initials presumably for Wendy Williams Hunter, the 59-year-old host’s legal name from her marriage to ex-husband Kevin Hunter.
On Friday, a New York appellate judge ruled that Lifetime may go forward with releasing its documentary about Williams despite the lawsuit filed against A&E Television Networks in an attempt to halt its premiere. The Friday order says such a ruling would be an “impermissible prior restraint on speech that violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
The ruling clears Lifetime’s two-night broadcast plan for “Where is Wendy Williams?,” which includes footage of the former talk show host and interviews. In a statement provided to USA TODAY Friday, A&E said Lifetime has appeared in court and confirmed the “Where is Wendy Williams?” documentary “will air this weekend as planned.”
In 2021, the network aired a biopic about the talk show host’s life, “Wendy Williams: The Movie,” and a documentary, “Wendy Williams: What a Mess.”
Former TV host Wendy Williams diagnosedwith frontotemporal dementia and aphasia
When does ‘Where is Wendy Williams?’ air on Lifetime?
Part one of “Where is Wendy Williams?” which is executive produced by the star herself airs at 7 p.m. central on Lifetime on Saturday Feb. 24. Part two of the two-day exclusive event will air on Sunday Feb. 25 at the same time.
“An unfiltered look at Wendy’s life following the end of her iconic talk show,” a description of the show reads.
The documentary trailer, which was released before Williams’ diagnosis was publicly announced, teases harrowing behind-the-scenes footage of Williams struggling with her health. The trailer also includes new interviews with the former talk show host, who was known for her ultra-private life during the heyday of the “Wendy Show.”
“I have no money,” Williams says. “I’m going to tell you something. If it happens to me, it could happen to you.”
How to watch the Lifetime channel
If you don’t have cable, Lifetime is available on a number of streaming services that carry the channel, including:
What happened to Wendy Williams’ talk show?
For years, Williams heated up daytime with her signature Hot Topics segment. Then, her life became a hot topic.
In March 2019, Williams announced she was living in a sober house. Then, a month later, Williams filed for divorce after 21 years of marriage to ex-husband Kevin Hunter, a co-executive producer of Williams’ long-running daytime talk show “The Wendy Williams Show” also known as “Wendy.” The talk show host and Hunter share one adult child, Kevin Hunter Jr.
Wendy Williams’ daytime show ends,Sherri Shepherd to take over slot
Two years later, in fall 2021, “Wendy” experienced several production delays. A rotating slate of guest hosts stepped in to help host the show including Leah Remini, comedian Michael Rapaport and former co-host of “The View” Sherri Shepherd.
“Wendy” was canceled in 2022 after Williams took medical leave during a battle with the autoimmune disorder Graves’ disease. That same year, she was placed under a financial guardianship. Wells Fargo argued at the time that she was an “incapacitated person,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. Later, the production company behind “Wendy” replaced the program with “Sherri” featuring Shepherd in the same timeslot in September 2022.
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, Brendan Morrow , Emily DeLetter