--- title: "Wendy Williams Diagnosed With Dementia Amid Legal Guardianship Drama" description: "Wendy Williams' team has confirmed that the daytime TV host has been diagnosed with dementia ahead of a new documentary about her life." date: "2024-02-23" modified: "2024-02-23" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/wendy-williams-dementia" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "aphasia" - "broadcasting" - "celebrities" - "dementia" --- # Wendy Williams Diagnosed With Dementia Amid Legal Guardianship Drama ![Wendy Williams' team has confirmed that the daytime TV host has been diagnosed with dementia ahead of a new documentary about her life.]() *\Image: Roy Rochlin / WireImage via Getty / Futurism\* After her exit from public life nearly two years ago, Wendy Williams' team has confirmed that the daytime TV staple has been diagnosed with aphasia and dementia ahead of the release of a [new documentary]() about her life under the legal guardianship of someone else. In a [press release](), the talk show legend's team announced that along with her [previously-reported health struggles](), Williams was also diagnosed in 2023 with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) after "undergoing a battery of medical tests." Notably, the 59-year-old New York media personality shares those diagnoses with famed actor Bruce Willis, whose family [announced just over a year ago]() that he has both FTD and aphasia, a disorder that leads to forgetting words and ultimately losing their ability to speak. Similarly to Willis' family, Williams' team said the media personality and those close her to have decided to reveal her diagnoses to "raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances." "Unfortunately, many individuals diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia face stigma and misunderstanding," the statement reads, "particularly when they begin to exhibit behavioral changes but have not yet received a diagnosis." Though FTD and aphasia are debilitating and progressive, the celebrity broadcaster is, per the statement, "still able to do many things for herself" — though as legal guardians for Williams have been claiming for two years now, she's of "[unsound mind]()." In 2022, her long-running "The Wendy Williams Show" [ended due to ongoing health concerns]() related to Graves' Disease, a thyroid disorder, and Lymphedema, which is associated with a buildup of lymph fluid. That same year, a New York judge placed her under legal guardianship after Wells Fargo froze her accounts due to her allegedly being "[exploited]()." (As her manager later revealed, this decision was erroneous and may have been due to her [pursuing holistic treatments]() for her disorders.) That same guardian, who [*TMZ* claims]() is Manhattan estate attorney and [former Wells Fargo financial advisor]() Sabrina Morrissey, is mentioned in the upcoming Lifetime documentary "Where is Wendy Williams," which looks at her life under the legal care of another individual. In the documentary, the broadcaster is said to allege that her [legal guardian stole money]() from her. Morrissey, on her end, has [filed a lawsuit]() against A&E Television Networks, the parent company of the Lifetime channel, to prevent the release of the doc. **More on celebrity illness:** [*Snoop Dogg's 24-Year-Old Daughter Shares Symptoms Before She Suffered Stroke*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()