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Guardianship judge Lisa Sokoloff has threatened to place Wendy Williams under stricter restrictions in an email dated March 12, 2025, obtained by TMZ. This happened after the media personality came forward to expose the conditions of her New York-based residential facility, Coterie.
“I have always contended that [Wendy] will be given the independence she can handle. I question how well she has handled the independence she has been given,” Sokoloff wrote in the email suggesting Williams be moved to another facility.
In a follow-up email, Lisa, who is a New York Supreme Court judge, asked Wendy’s lawyer to “Tell your client that if she wants a jury she should refrain from trying to poison the jury pool.”
The judge added that Wendy Williams needed to “go back to the Coterie until a new facility can be found” after being discharged from the Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, where the doctors are currently conducting her psychological evaluation and overall health condition.
“The hospital wants to discharge her. Ms. Morrissey [the guardian] has facilities who, despite her behavior, are willing to assess her,” Sokoloff wrote.
In response to Lisa Sokoloff’s emails, Wendy told TMZ Live on March 12 that nothing could be “more restrictive” than the Manhattan residential facility, Coterie, where she had been living for the past year and had previously described it as a “luxury prison.”
Williams had been put under conservatorship and restricted living facility after she was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, two years back. Back then, she was declared of unsound mind, unable to take care of her health and finances.
All you need to know about Lisa Sokoloff amid her Wendy Williams’ emails
According to Ballotpedia, Lisa Sokoloff is an acting justice and judge for the New York Supreme Court 1st Judicial District, serving since 2013, with her term ending on January 1, 2037. She is a member of the Democratic Party and won re-election in November 2022.
Sokoloff also ran for re-election to the New York City Civil Court for Manhattan’s 3rd Municipal Court District but did not appear on the ballot, seemingly stepping out of the race.
Lisa Sokoloff was an attorney in private practice before becoming a judge and earned her bachelor’s degree from Vassar College in 1980. Later, she also obtained a J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1983.
As per The Daily Beast, Lisa is being investigated for reportedly taking around $6,000 in campaign donations between 2019 and 2022 seemingly from 20 guardianship attorneys and law firms, and allegedly gave them 62 appointments in 2022 alone.
Exploring Wendy Williams’ reaction following Lisa Sokoloff’s ruling
During Wednesday’s TMZ Live, Wendy Williams teared up after hearing the news about Lisa Sokoloff’s emails and shared she’d “keep it PG,” adding she was not “cognitively impaired” and wanted to “regain control of my life” while protecting her money that was “up in the air.”
“What is going on with the judge speaking to me in that way?” the former TV host asked before agreeing with TMZ reporters that the judge was treating her like a “petulant child.” The 60-year-old got emotional when asked about her concern of changing facilities, saying:
“Don’t make me start crying. It makes me very very nervous... I’m scared of that… I don't know what could be tighter than where I am but I have to get out of guardian and I have to do it immediately… I have to get out of [guardianship] and I have to do it immediately.”
Wendy Williams claimed that the court was “lying” and she had no freedom to move about as she wished, adding that even her close family members needed her guardian’s permission to meet her. She explained that she is not allowed to live the fifth floor of Coterie without a chaperone, rarely steps out, has no internet/ phone calls access, and has minimum visitors.
Earlier this week, Williams dropped a note reading, “Help! Wendy!” and waved from her window, following which she was transported to the Lenox Hill Hospital. In the wake of this, she told the press that she wasn’t mentally incompetent nor should be under the guardianship of Sabrina Morrissey.
Unfortunately, despite her claims and successfully passing a cognitive test recently with a 10/10 score, Lisa Sokoloff has reportedly threatened to restrict Wendy Williams’ freedom, as per TMZ reports. The outlet mentioned on Wednesday that the judge was seeming “fed up” with the media personality’s “behavior” and her tendency to reach out to the media about her guardianship. Sokoloff has allegedly asked Williams not to talk to the press anymore.
Wendy Williams’ loved ones told TMZ that she should not be punished and Lisa Sokoloff’s ruling was “pure retaliation for Wendy speaking up for herself to get out of an abusive guardianship.”
Meanwhile, Morrissey’s attorney told TMZ in a letter that reports of Wendy Williams being in a bad condition under her guardianship were “untrue, inaccurate, incomplete or misleading,” and the talk show host was receiving “excellent medical care.” The lawyer added that the facility housing Williams also had a workout room, spa, dining room, outside terraces, and excellent food.
“False statements about Ms. Williams, her condition, and the guardianship harm Ms. Williams and her interests,” the lawyer wrote before claiming Wendy made trips to Florida twice to spend time with family in the past year.
For those unaware, Sabrina Morrissey is a court-appointed guardian who has been in charge of Wendy Williams’ conservatorship since 2022 when she was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. At the time, her bank Wells Fargo claimed she was incapacitated and a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”
Notably, Morrissey has reportedly been paid $300,000 for her services once and oversees 23 other guardianship cases. Apart from Wendy, Sabrina is also responsible for the former’s 24-year-old son Kevin Hunter Jr. who has called out the guardian several times for manhandling his mother’s case.
As per TMZ, New York's Adult Protective Services agency is now investigating Wendy Williams’ guardianship and her stay at the facility’s memory unit in the fifth floor, where she reportedly has lesser privileges than people living on other floors. The NYPD is also reportedly investigating the circumstances of her stay.
Wendy Williams will be making her comeback on TV on March 14 and will appear on The View, alongside the hosts including Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, and Alyssa Farah Griffin. However, as per ABC, it remains unclear whether she will arrive in person or via phone interview.
