Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia as well as aphasia, her team announced Thursday morning.
“As Wendy’s fans are aware, in the past she has been open with the public about her medical struggles with Graves’ Disease and Lymphedema as well as other significant challenges related to her health.”
The press release explained that the former “Wendy Williams Show” host, 59, underwent a battery of tests in 2023 after her memory started to fail and she began to “lose words” and “act erratically.”
Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia. WireImage
The former “Wendy Williams Show” host received her diagnosis in 2023 after she started losing her memory and words. Lifetime
Doctors concluded Williams’ struggles were due to these neurodegenerative diseases.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a group of disorders that occur when nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain are lost, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. FTD can affect behavior, personality, language and movement.
“Receiving a diagnosis has enabled Wendy to receive the medical care she requires,” the statement said.
The press release assured fans that the former shock jock is “still able to do many things for herself” and has maintained her “trademark sense of humor.” Anders Krusberg/startraksphoto.c
“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances.”
The press release assured fans that the former shock jock is “still able to do many things for herself” and has maintained her “trademark sense of humor.”
Williams, who remains in an undisclosed treatment center where her family claims they’ve been unable to reach her, has been receiving the care she needs to make sure she is “protected,” the statement read.
“Receiving a diagnosis has enabled Wendy to receive the medical care she requires,” the statement said. Jamie McCarthy/WireImage.com
“She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and good wishes being sent her way.”
The disclosure of Williams’ diseases, from which famed actor Bruce Willis also suffers, comes ahead of the release of Lifetime’s documentary “Where Is Wendy Williams?”
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a group of disorders that occur when nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain are lost, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Lifetime
Filmed over the course of two years and executive produced by Williams, the two-part documentary will dive into the media personality’s declining health and alcoholism, all of which contributed to her being placed under a court-ordered guardianship in 2022.
Fans first became concerned with Williams’ health when she collapsed on-air during her daytime talk show’s Halloween episode in 2017.
A year later, she pegged the incident to her Graves’ disease diagnosis, but not long after that admission she copped to living in a sober house to treat her alcoholism.
The news of her declining health comes just days before the premiere of her Lifetime documentary “Where Is Wendy Williams?” WireImage
Although she was sober for a while, the former radio host relapsed and checked back into rehab multiple times throughout 2022 and 2023.
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“We’ve spoken about it,” Williams’ son, Kevin Hunter Jr., shared with the US Sun last summer of his mother’s addiction issues.
Executive produced by the shock jock, Williams will detail her alcoholism, financial guardianship and more. Lifetime
“I’ve said, ‘This is one thing where you don’t know how to approach it normally, and that’s fine,’ and it’s gotten to a point where, yes, it could have that effect that it might be fatal because it affects her way worse than a normal person since it stays in her system.”
Kevin Jr., 23, further claimed that Williams’ team began exploiting her while she was under the influence despite having the financial guardian put in place after her bank, Wells Fargo, argued that she was an “incapacitated person.”
Williams remains in an undisclosed treatment facility. Getty Images
The “How You Doin’?” host previously has been vocal about her disapproval of the guardian.
“Please be advised that Wendy is not in agreement with the appointment of a financial guardian by the court. Wendy has been very clear that she does not want a financial guardian to tell her what she can and cannot do with her money,” her former publicist shared, adding that Williams felt “capable” of hiring her own team who would work for her “and not the court.”
Williams remains under the guardianship and sobbed in a trailer for the forthcoming documentary about how she has “no money.”
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