Wendy Williams Calls Her Guardianship ‘Emotional Abuse,’ Insists She’s Not ‘Cognitively Impaired’

Wendy Williams is breaking her silence about her guardianship and setting the record straight.

The former talk show host, 60, and her niece Alex Finnie called into “The Breakfast Club” radio show on Thursday, January 16, to speak out against her guardianship, which Wendy has been under since 2022. The Wendy Williams Show alum claimed that she was “trapped” in a facility in New York that primarily houses and cares for elderly patients and did not have access to her phone or laptop. Wendy described her situation as “emotional abuse.”

“I’m in this place where the people are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s … There’s something wrong with these people here on this floor,” she said. “I keep the door closed. I watch TV. I listen to the radio. I watch the window. I sit here, and my life goes by.”

She also claimed that her cats were taken from her despite her “wanting them with” her. Additionally, Wendy alleged that she is often given medication without knowing what it is treating.

“It’s to the point where, uh, ‘Excuse me, doctor, can you tell me what this pill is for?’” she continued.

Wendy’s niece said her aunt’s apartment in the facility has “a bed, a chair, a TV, a bathroom and she’s looking out one window at buildings across the street. That’s her life.”

Wendy also addressed guardian Sabrina E. Morrissey’s claim in November 2024 court documents that the former radio DJ is “cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated” as a result of her primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. Wendy was diagnosed with the illnesses in 2023.

“Do I seem that way, goddamnit?” Wendy asked “The Breakfast Club” hosts DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God and Jess Hilarious in response to Sabrina’s claim. “I am not cognitively impaired, you know what I’m saying? But I feel like I’m in prison. I am definitely isolated. To talk to these people who live here, that is not my cup of tea.”

Wendy also spoke about Lifetime’s Where Is Wendy Williams? documentary, which aired in February 2024 days after her team revealed her aphasia and dementia diagnoses to the public. Sabrina filed a lawsuit against A+E Networks after the doc aired, claiming that Wendy was exploited. The network then fired back with a claim that Sabrina spoke out against the documentary because she knew it would contain criticism of her role as a guardian, per Variety.

Wendy said on “The Breakfast Club” that she and Sabrina watched the documentary together and took notes, but it was her guardian’s idea to do so.

“She was the one who wanted to do that, you understand what I’m saying?” she added. “What do I think about being abused? Look, this system is broken, this system that I’m in. This system has falsified a lot.”

Wendy shared that her wish is to move to Miami to be with Alex, her father and son Kevin Hunter Jr.

“I am exhausted thinking about, what if I can’t see my dad for his birthday? At 94, the day after that is not promised,” she said, becoming emotional. “My life is, like, f–ked up.”

Wendy was able to travel with her caretakers to Miami in December 2024 to see Kevin, 24, graduate from Florida International University. Amid the excitement surrounding his graduation, Wendy’s son took a moment to advocate for his mom’s freedom.

“While I’m here quick update on my mom,” the new college graduate wrote in an Instagram comment. “She’s sober and wants to come home. We’re fighting to make that happen because isolation is killing her faster than anything else.”