Wendy Williams’ documentary shows talk show host having meltdowns over bottle of vodka and vape
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: After overcoming several legal hurdles, Wendy Williams’ Lifetime documentary made its way to the viewers as the first half of the four-and-half hour-long program aired on Saturday, February 24.
The second half of the documentary titled ‘Where is Wendy Williams?’ is scheduled to air on Sunday, February 25. The documentary chronicles the life of Williams for two years, starting in 2022 when she decided to make a comeback to television.
The documentary was released just a few days after it was reported on Thursday, February 22, that the talk-show host was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
After the initial introduction, the documentary sheds light on Williams’ health and financial struggles.
Wendy Williams’ struggles with alcohol abuse
The documentary was filmed between August 2022 to April 2023 until the daytime television host entered a rehab facility.
However, a look into the documentary makes one understand that Williams was struggling with several mental and physical issues before the doctors formally diagnosed her with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
It also chronicles the often irrational and erratic behavior of the 59-year-old star when she becomes overwhelmed with outer stimuli.
The documentary showcases Williams’ interactions with her staff members, including her manager, personal assistant, and driver. Her family members, including her son and nephew, showed up on the screen to offer their views.
In one of the segments of the show, Williams was seen getting confronted by her manager Will Selby for drinking almost one whole bottle of vodka, per Daily Mail.
Her manager was seeing confronting Williams saying, “So, did you eat something, or did you have a liquid lunch? Because I came into your room, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I happen to notice one of your specialty items. Did you drink this whole thing today?”
Williams replied “Yes,” before quickly changing her response to “no”.
Selby went on to tell her gently, “I don't know if you need this right now,” before Williams protested, “I'm not drunk!”
Selby continues, “I never said you was drunk, but I just don't know if this is a good idea,” and added, “So, you think you're perfectly fine having as many drinks as you want?”
Williams replied, “Perfectly,” before adding pointedly, “F**k you!”
As Selby tries to take the alcohol away from her after saying, “I'm just gonna put it downstairs to keep it cool,” Williams retorted back, “Keep it there!”
Referring to the incident, Selby later talked directly to the camera, “I don't know how much alcohol she consumes, but I threw the damn liquor away. And I'm just gonna be honest with you. I don't know if it's gonna stop her.”
He then shared helplessly, “I never feel powerless, but I do feel like I just need help because I can't do this alone. I would be lying to you if I would think that I could conquer alcoholism alone.”
Williams was then asked directly whether she was planning to stop drinking, the former radio host replied with a firm “No.”
She continued to defend her stance, saying, “Will [Selby] drinks. We all drink. Why can't I?”
Following the incident with Selby, she further yelled to her publicist Shawn Zanotti, who was with her at the time, “I will smoke when I smoke and I will liquor when I liquor.”
She continued to state twice, “How dare him,” before adding decisively, “I control me.”
Documentary shows Wendy's relationship with her son
The documentary focuses on her personal relationships as well. One of the relationships that was hinted to have gone sour because of her alcohol abuse is her relationship with her son, Kevin Hunter Jr.
In one segment, as one of the producers asked her whether she would want to mend any relationship, she tearfully replied, “My son.”
When the producer asked what were the obstacles, she replied, “Nothing. Except for he hates liquor.”
As the film continues to capture her struggles with alcohol abuse along with her increasing cognitive difficulties, the focus is also turned toward her financial issues and the troubles with guardianship.
In 2022, her bank Wells Fargo requested a New York court to put her under guardianship citing she was of “unsound mind".
In May of the same year, the court-appointed an independent guardian to deal with her finances as the bank previously noted they feared for her getting financially exploited because of her “cognitive issues".
During that time, her son Kevin Hunter Jr was accused of charging $100,000 to her American Express card. In the documentary, Kevin, however, defended himself and said he spent every penny with his mother’s consent.
As the show’s producer asked Kevin, “Do you think your mother should have a guardian?” he replied, “I think that my mother should have family. The family's side of the story hasn't been told, so it's kind of left this gray space of who's really telling the truth or what's really going on. I've always wanted the best for my mom. You know, I just stay strong.”
He continued, “No matter how many times somebody may fall down, you got to lift them back up, but I feel like that the situation that she's in right now isn't really the best situation for her journey of trying to heal.”
At another point of the documentary, Williams was seen admiring her figure in her bedroom mirror.
She said, “Oh, my God! All I was doing was saying, oh, my God, how sexy I look. Look, a thigh gap. Look, even when I do this, you see a thigh gap? And I have tears. In a good way. I love my family.”
It quickly changed into another questionnaire session with the producers who asked her whether she was still supporting her son.
She replied, “First of all, asking, 'Do I support' - Is the wrong word. Who the f**k Are you?” before breaking down into tears.
As the producer said, “I didn't mean to upset you,” Williams retorted, “Leave me alone. Go away!”
She continued, “This is my third time crying. And I cried the other day, and I'm not a crier.”
She later noted that her entire wealth is for her son, saying, “I've got so much money. I want it for my son.”
Wendy Williams struggled with coming to terms with show cancellation
During the second hour of the documentary, Wendy Williamd appeared confused when she asked her driver to take the car to the studio where she used to film 'The Wendy Williams Show' and has now been taken over by Sherri Shepherd.
She appeared to tell her driver, "I don't see my spot. Uh, this doesn't look like anything familiar when I'm going to 'The Wendy Williams Show.' Why did it take so long?"
She then asked her driver to stop the car at a smoke shop for a vape pen. It soon followed a discussion with her staff members who tried to convince her they bought the correct vape pen for her.
According to her niece Alex Finnie, Williams took "weeks, months" to really understand what was going on. She further added that she had to break the news of the show's cancellation to her aunt.
Finnie said that she informed her aunt that her last taping was on July 16, 2021, per The Hollywood Reporter.
She shared on the documentary, “My aunt did not know she was not going back to the show,” before adding, “She came over to my home one day, and this was when the news broke. I said to her, ‘Sit down. The show is no more. The show’s done. It’s now Sherri [Shepherd] who is in your time slot. 'The Wendy Williams Show' as you know it, it’s done."
Finnie added, "She didn’t believe it,” and continued, “She was still going out and saying, ‘I’m getting ready for a new season,’ and then it took a little bit of time — weeks, months — to really understand where things stood. That’s how that played out.”
