Wendy Williams and Bruce Willis’ dementia diagnosed spotlight disease
Dr. Daniel Amen spoke to USA TODAY about what it’s like to be diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and the incurable disease.
Days after Wendy Williams’ frontotemporal dementia diagnosis was revealed, the talk show host’s declining health has become the focus of a graphic new Lifetime documentary.
The network aired the documentary “Where Is Wendy Williams?” on Saturday and Sunday. The film depicts Williams’ struggles with his health until he is eventually admitted to a treatment facility. In it, her family opens up about her dementia diagnosis while advocating for a change in her conservatorship, which she will receive in 2022.
Before the documentary aired, the former talk show host, 59, thanked well-wishers for their supportive responses despite her diagnosis.
“I want to express my immense gratitude for the love and kind words I received after I told you my diagnosis of aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Let me just say wow! Your response has been overwhelming. ” Williams said in a statement. She told The Associated Press through a representative of her care team. She said: “The messages shared touched me and reminded me of the power of unity and the need for compassion.”
Here are the biggest takeaways from this documentary:
Wendy Williams’ son says she has ‘alcoholic dementia’
In the second part of the documentary, Williams’ family opens up about her dementia diagnosis. Her 23-year-old son, Kevin Hunter Jr., said she was diagnosed with “alcohol-induced” dementia. “They were basically saying she had been drinking so much that it was starting to affect her head space and her brain,” he says.
Williams appears confused at several points in the documentary, including suggesting he was in Miami during a trip to California.
Wendy Williams’ family criticizes her conservatorship
Williams’ family has repeatedly criticized her conservatorship, in which a court appoints a professional guardian to oversee her finances. They believe a member of her family should play the role, but her son claims her guardian is “not protecting her enough”. Williams’ sister, Wanda Finney, offered to be her guardian, but “then all of a sudden the walls came down and there was nothing,” she said.
Ms Williams’ son denied allegations that he was trying to exploit her financially, leading to financial guardianship. He claims he never withdrew money from her mother’s account without her mother’s permission. At one point, Ms. Williams claimed that her guardian had stolen money from her, but she offered no proof of that.
Williams’ manager Will Selby also said, “Everything has to be decided by the courts and the conservatorship,” when referring to the possibility of her moving to Florida to be with her family. “She doesn’t make any decisions herself,” he says.
Wendy Williams claims she still feels ‘very healthy’ after staying at wellness center
At the beginning of “Where’s Wendy Williams?”, Williams reverses her decision to admit herself to a California wellness center shortly after her first documentary interview in 2022. She said Mr Selby and her guardian took her there, but when she asks, she claims she has “no idea” why.
When Selby interjects and tells Williams, “I need to rest,” she says, “You can rest here.” Williams then declined to answer further questions. “I’m very healthy,” she says.
Wendy Williams’ nephew says he almost died in 2020
DJ Buch, a friend and former colleague of Williams’, says he became concerned about her health in 2020 when they worked together filming her talk show from home. He says she noticed her delayed reactions and fatigue, and she thought, “This isn’t coronavirus.” I’m doing this. ”
Williams was hospitalized in May of the same year. Her nephew, Travis Finney, said DJ Buch “was there and she called us crying and told us she was going to die and we needed her help.” Ta. Finney added that Williams had received three blood transfusions and “that’s the only reason she’s alive today.” He blamed the medical emergency on Williams’ drinking.
DJ Buch also recalls going to the hospital to check on Williams at the time, but wasn’t sure if she knew who he was. “I felt like she wasn’t the same person anymore,” he said.
Wendy Williams life documentary Judge rules that it will be broadcast despite guardian’s lawsuit
Wendy Williams’ loved ones express concern about her drinking
Throughout the documentary, people around Williams express concerns about her drinking.
In one scene, her manager Will Selby confronts her about finding a bottle of alcohol in her room. Selby said she looked for alcohol every time she came to the apartment, and she sometimes found bottles in the bathroom or closet.
Williams then orders an alcoholic drink at a restaurant, but Selby secretly tells the waiter to bring him a virgin drink. However, she defended her drinking, saying: “I’m sure everyone drinks. Why can’t I?”
Drinking caused tension between Wendy Williams and her son
Williams’ son said in the first part of the documentary that it had been eight months since he last saw his mother, when she came to Florida to spend time with family in 2021. During that time, Williams “looked like he had a lot on his plate,” his nephew Travis Finney said.
Finney said she returned to New York to deal with her financial conservatorship case, but her family insists they are better off together in Florida. Hunter says she is surrounded by “yes people” in New York, who she claims eat and drink in an unhealthy way.
Williams also admits that her drinking caused tension with her son, whom she finally reunites with in the second part of the documentary.
Filming was halted after Wendy Williams exhibited erratic behavior.
An extended scene in the second episode shows Williams being driven to a vape shop, which he claims is different from the one he usually goes to, causing confusion. She reprimanded the publicist and sent her to the store multiple times, and told her driver to look elsewhere. Eventually, the documentary’s producers intervened and said they had to stop filming. After the incident, Williams’ driver expressed concern that Williams was “losing his memory” and said he sometimes didn’t know who Williams was.
talk show host wendy williams Diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia
Williams has been aggressive towards people around her on a number of occasions, including telling her publicist to get liposuction. “Sometimes Wendy gets a little more aggressive,” Selby says.
Wendy Williams held meeting about returning to TV
Later in the documentary, Williams’ manager becomes upset after he flies to Los Angeles with his publicist to meet with NBCUniversal about a possible return to television.
Williams’ family is unhappy, claiming that her health is not in good enough condition to aim to return to work. Her niece Alex Finney said it was “despicable” that Williams’ publicist brought her to the meeting, which did not lead to her being offered a new show. Her son also said he was concerned that working in her poor health would “lead her to her death.”
Williams’ health appears to have worsened after this visit to Los Angeles. “Since she came to L.A., she’s become a completely different person,” Ms. Selby said, adding that she has returned “disturbed” and “resolutely sober.”
Wendy Williams didn’t know she wouldn’t be returning to her show
Williams’ talk show was canceled in February 2022 after taking a hiatus due to health issues. Her niece, Alex Finney, says that when she broke the news to Williams, she still believed she would return to the show.
“My aunt didn’t know that I wasn’t coming back to the show,” Finney said, adding that when I told her the show was cancelled, “she didn’t believe me.”
Wendy Williams ‘locked in her apartment’ surrounded by alcohol in 2023
Filming on the documentary will be halted by April 2023 due to concerns about Williams’ health. But Mr Selby continued to provide updates on her and said he had found her “hiding in the bathroom” of her apartment. He also said he found a large empty alcohol bottle on her bed.
“I don’t think she cares whether she’s here or not,” Selby says. “She locked herself in her apartment, surrounded herself with alcohol, and decided, ‘This is my destiny.'”
Williams ended up in a treatment facility. Although the family doesn’t know the exact location, Williams’ sister said she is now in a “stronger place” and that she “feels like she’s talking to the Wendy from all those years ago.” Selby also said she now looks “natural” and “as low-key as possible.”
