Wendy Williams, a former television host, was taken from her New York-based assisted living facility in an ambulance on Monday. The action followed a wellness check by the police, which was initiated by a handwritten note reading “Help! Wendy!!” thrown from the window of her fifth-floor room. The incident took place around 11:15 a.m., as per the information provided by law enforcement.
Williams, 60, has been diagnosed with dementia and has been living in the memory ward of the facility. She has been actively fighting to terminate her court-ordered guardianship. After the note was thrown, Williams was observed at her window, gesturing with her arms and talking on the phone. Shortly thereafter, she was escorted from the facility by police and helped into an ambulance.
This event follows recent reports that Williams was preparing to return to television for the first time since her health problems began. She was slated to appear on ABC’s “The View” on Friday, which would have been her first daytime appearance since taking a leave of absence from her own show, “The Wendy Williams Show,” four years ago.
The news of her upcoming appearance was announced by Suzanne Bass, the former co-executive producer of Williams’ show, in an Instagram post on Sunday. The post featured a video of Bass talking to Williams on the phone, with the caption, “Prepping a very special friend for her appearance @theviewabc to air this Friday. #freewendy.”
It is still uncertain whether Williams’ appearance on “The View” was intended to be in person or over the phone. Williams, who has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, has been publicly fighting to end her guardianship since 2022.
Her guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, has previously stated that Williams has become cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and incapacitated due to her battle with dementia. However, Williams has insisted that she is mentally sound. In a recent phone interview with TMZ, she claimed that she is being held in a “prison” and is not allowed to leave of her own free will.
Despite these challenges, Williams seemed to make some progress in her guardianship battle last month. Morrissey informed a judge that she would be open to having Williams undergo a new medical evaluation in light of Williams’ claims that she does not have dementia.