Where Is Wendy Williams? Shocking Doc Reveals Star’s Struggles with Money Woes, Health Issues and Alcohol

Wendy Williams is breaking her silence about the personal, physical and financial struggles that led to her abrupt departure from television.

In the trailer for Lifetime’s new two-part documentary, Where is Wendy Williams?the former talk show host was seen for the first time after her departure The Wendy Williams Show amid her health and legal battles in July 2021.

“Since I was six years old, all I wanted was to be famous,” Williams admits in a voiceover as cheers from adoring fans and behind-the-scenes footage of her talk show are shown.

The trailer continues to feature highlights from her career including Williams receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and entertaining viewers “in their living rooms every day for 12 years.”

Wendy Williams reveals what’s next for her after her eponymous talk show ends after 13 years

Wendy Williams. Getty Images

Despite being at the “peak of her career”, the voice recalls how she left the limelight and disappeared. Preparing for her first on-camera appearance in three years, the TV personality looks up wide-eyed before asking the crew: “Are we ready?”

“All I know is how to be famous,” she says in a radio interview before the scene cuts to a clip of Williams walking with help. In another conversation with his son, Kevin Hunter Jr., he reveals, “I want to get back on television.”

“My mom did a great job of making it seem like everything was always fine, but in reality, something bad was going on,” Hunter admits.

When the producer asks if Williams has “been seeing a neurologist,” she replies, “To find out if I’m crazy? Mhmm.”

Inside Wendy Williams’ decades-long journey to sobriety — and work to help other addicts

After Williams was shown needing breaks from filming to sit down and be helped up, a family member says she was “put in front of a judge and given a guardian” when her personal ailments became too severe.

“Then they took her to us”, he adds.

Wendy Williams. THE WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW

Elsewhere in the trailer, Williams ponders the consequences of her condition. “I have no money,” she declared before addressing fans, “And let me tell you something, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you.”

As her family members recall their attempts to help Williams as she “screamed for help”, the TV star sits down in her chair during the confessional and cries as she clutches a throw pillow.

William’s struggle with alcoholism is also discussed. At one point, one of her loved ones finds a bottle of vodka among her belongings and asks, “Did you drink all this today?” Williams retorts and instructs him to “keep the bottle over there” while he recovers in bed.

“My mom always talks about how she wants to work, but I feel like she’s worked enough,” Hunter says. “He has people around him who are ‘yes people’ and allow this to continue.”

Wendy Williams reveals what’s next for her after her eponymous talk show ends after 13 years

In another scene, Williams becomes aggressive in the backseat of a car as she instructs the driver to “go!” As she drives around her hometown of New York, she admits to being unaware of her surroundings and “this doesn’t look like anything familiar.”

One family member theorizes that she may be “losing her memory,” while another notes, “Anybody can look at her and tell that this isn’t just alcohol, there’s something more going on.”

Wendy Williams and her son Kevin Hunter Jr. Michael Tran/FilmMagic

Amid the struggles and tearful confessions about missing her family, her loved ones say they are trying to support her and remind viewers that “she’s still a person.”

“I feel like the guardian didn’t protect my mom very well,” Hunter adds before a scene in which Williams admits she’s not aware of the people in her life who love her.

“I love being famous,” Williams says. “But family is everything. Everything.”

Former Wendy Williams says it’s a ‘parody’ that the talk show isn’t including the host in the series finale

Manny Carabel/Getty

In June 2022, PEOPLE confirmed that Williams was officially ending her talk show. Her final season saw multiple guest appearances after she tested positive for a new case of COVID-19, as well as her ongoing health issues related to Graves’ disease.

Williams previously took a break from the series in March 2018 and again in May 2020 due to complications with Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism. She also took a six-week break at the beginning of 2019 after breaking her shoulder. She later revealed that she quietly focused on her sobriety while on leave as well.

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Where is Wendy Williams? premieres on Lifetime on February 24 with part two airing the following day.

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Source: HIS Education