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Lifetime's bombshell four-part docuseries on talk show host Wendy Williams, Where is Wendy Williams? released its first two parts on Saturday, February 24. The documentary, filmed between August 2022 and April of last year, showcased many stunning revelations about William's life, including her struggles with alcohol, her financial guardianship, and her various health issues.
Williams' team informed her fans in a statement last week that she was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia the previous year. Despite this, the talk show host was criticized for her treatment of various people in her life, especially her publicist, Shawn Zanotti, whom Williams insulted multiple times throughout the documentary for seemingly trivial matters.
Wendy Williams' controversial treatment of her publicist, Shawn Zanotti
On Saturday, February 25, the first two parts of Lifetime's highly anticipated and controversial Where is Wendy Williams? documentary aired on television and immediately went viral upon release. The show showcased many raw and distressing moments in the life of Wendy Williams that some of her longtime fans couldn't even bear to watch.
However, one thing that caught Williams' flak was her treatment of staff, most prominently her publicist, Shawn Zanotti. At one point in the documentary, Wendy, who was sitting across from Zanotti, yells out to her:
"I wish you would get liposuction."
Zanotti snickered and dismissed the comment. In another moment, Wendy asks her assistant to put a UGG jacket back in the same position in her closet and yells at her to close it before calling her a "dumba*s." At another moment, Wendy requests Zanotti to go downstairs to under something that made her "fatter."
This was not all. Zanotti once got a vape pen for Wendy Williams and brought it back to her car. Zanotti said that this was the only one the shop had and that it was what she usually got. An irate Wendy took one look at the vape pen and exclaimed:
"What the f**k is this?"
She further told Zanotti:
"Give it back and don't take more than two seconds."
Zanotti returned another vape pen to see if that was what Wendy wanted, but she once again asked her to return it. She snapped at her driver once, telling him he was "just a driver." The driver laughed and brushed off her comments. In another moment, while getting her nails done, she snapped at her nail technician and asked her if she was stupid.
However, it is essential also to know that Wendy Williams was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and aphasia in 2023. Wendy's team revealed on Thursday, February 22, through a statement that the diagnosis was made after multiple tests conducted after the talk show host began speaking erratically, losing words, and exhibiting memory loss.
According to the Mayo Clinic, frontotemporal dementia affects areas of the brain responsible for one's behavior, language, and personality. People with FTD can showcase personality changes, become emotionally indifferent, and behave impulsively and socially inappropriately.
In the documentary, Wendy Williams' manager, Will Shelby, revealed that she had become "more aggressive." Her nephew Travis Finnie also confirmed this. He claimed to have noticed a change in his aunt's personality over the last ten years.
'Where is Wendy Williams?' delves deep into the life of the beloved talk show host
The documentary also explores Wendy Williams' struggles with alcohol, including her multiple stints in rehab. When asked in a documentary interview why she drank, Wendy replied that she could and also pointed out that everybody drank.
Will Shelby could be seen attempting to cure her alcohol addiction by enrolling Wendy in a treatment facility and even clearing out her bottles of alcohol. Williams' son Kevin had a strict policy when it came to his mother's consumption of alcohol. At one point, Williams even stated that he wanted to repair her relationship with Kevin and that there were no barriers between them except for her drinking.
Will Shelby is quoted in the docuseries as saying:
"He (Kevin) has a no-alcohol policy. He’s always stressed that to me. He doesn’t want her drinking a drop of liquor."
In one moment, Wendy Williams angrily kicked Shelby out of her place because he chucked out a vodka bottle from her room. As shown later in a meeting with her publicist, Williams yelled:
"I will smoke when I smoke and I will liquor when I liquor."
She added:
"How dare him."
Another thing explored in the docuseries is Wendy Williams' guardianship. Williams was put under independent financial guardianship under her bank, Wells Fargo after her financial adviser claimed that she was not of sound mind. According to Vulture, Wells Fargo stated that she was a victim of "undue influence and financial exploitation."
Thereby, Williams' bank account was frozen, and she lost access to her own money. The talk show host warned in a documentary interview:
"One judge and three doctors say my money is still stuck at Wells Fargo and I’m going to tell you something, if it happens to me, it could happen to you."
Last week, before the airing of the documentary, Page Six reported that a woman named Sabrina Morrissey, who claimed to be Williams' guardian, had filed a sealed lawsuit against the docuseries. A hearing regarding the lawsuit is set to take place later this week.
