Wendy Williams' Guardian Alleges A&E Exploited Her in New Lawsuit Over Documentary 'Where Is Wendy Williams?'
Wendy Williams' guardian has filed a lawsuit against A&E, alleging that the network took advantage of the host in their controversial documentary 'Where is Wendy Williams?'
The struggling health of Wendy Williams has been public knowledge for some time. In 2023 the personality was diagnosed with dementia and primary progressive aphasia. A year earlier in 2022, she was placed in a guardianship with Sabrina Morrissey due to her clear mental decline. Now, according to "PEOPLE," Morrissey is attempting to sue A&E for exploiting Wendy Williams.
Morrissey is alleging that the network took advantage of and exploited Williams through their documentary 'Where is Wendy Williams?" The complaint states that, "W.W.H. was highly vulnerable and clearly incapable of consenting to being filmed, much less humiliated and exploited." Williams's guardian continues that she tried to keep the documentary from being released in the first place, but production moved ahead even though they did not have a contract or consent.
The exploitation alleged in this complaint claims that "defendants have made millions on W.W.H.'s back, while W.W.H. has received a paltry $82,000." It goes on to lament that, "their behavior truly shocks the conscience, and they should not be permitted to profit from her suffering." Beyond monetary exploitation, the claim also asserts that the contract that was used to move forward with the documentary was not valid. "This agreement was submitted after W.W.H. had already been filmed... while she was clearly disheveled, not mentally present, and confused," the complaint reads.
Morrissey continues to assert that the documentary did wrong by the image of Williams. The complaint suggests that the "defendants deliberately destroyed Williams' credibility and image," thereby portraying her as the "laughingstock and drunkard implicitly responsible for her own continued suffering." They allege that his is bolstered by the portrayal of Williams with a nearly bald head during the documentary. Morrissey asserts that this is something she would, "never, ever consented and allowed."
Read more: Wendy Williams' Family 'Denied Contact' With Her, Still 'Praying' For Star On Her 60th Birthday
Filmmaker Mark Ford has defended the portrayal of Williams in the documentary, stating that it only showed what the crew was seeing in real life. "Once we started seeing the truth of the situation, we couldn't ignore it. And the film had to go in the direction of the truth."
