Frail Wendy Williams rides mobility scooter in rare public outing amid devastating dementia battle

Wendy Williams was a proud mom on Thursday, as she attended her son Kevin Jr.’s graduation from Florida International University in a rare public outing. 

The beloved American television host, 60, arrived to the event in Miami on a mobility scooter in a stylish sequin black dress. 

Williams — who was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in May 2023 — was joined by her father, Thomas Williams Sr. 

Photos from inside the event show the mom-of-one beaming as Kevin Jr., 24, received his diploma in a traditional blue college robe. At one point she also appeared emotional as she watched her only son walk the stage.

Wendy shares her son with ex-husband Kevin Hunter, 52. She filed for divorce from Hunter in 2019, after he fathered a baby with a mistress. Their divorce was finalized in 2020. 

Her outing comes after a family insider has exclusively told DailyMail.com that Wendy is ‘more clear now than she’s ever been,’ following her guardian’s claim that she is ‘permanently incapacitated.’ 

While arriving to the event, flanked by a couple armed guards, Wendy had a Louis Vuitton monogrammed tote bag in her lap, and finalized her look with chunky black boots.

The star also accessorized with gold bangles on her arm, and a large silver ring. Wendy further sparkled up her look with a silver ‘W’ necklace.

She wore her brunette hair straight and sported a classic red lip and black eyeliner. 

While inside, Wendy stood up at one point, and was seen making her way through the crowded aisles. 

It’s unclear if her ex-husband — who recently claimed Wendy ‘fraudulently concealed $48 million’ in their divorce settlement — also attended the event.

Wendy and Kevin began dating in 1994 before saying ‘I do’ in 1999. The pair welcomed their son in August 2000.

Despite not having any prior television experience, Hunter became his wife’s manager and production partner early in their relationship, eventually helping her launch her talk show, for which he served as an executive producer.

Ultimately, Williams filed for divorce after about 20 years of marriage in April 2019 citing ‘irreconcilable differences.’

Wendy was seen on another rare outing in a video posted earlier this week. She was spotted outside the Fort Lauderdale restaurant, Sista Sara’s Shonuff Oysters, with her nephew Travis Finnie, though it’s unclear what day the clip was taken on.

Wendy appeared to be in good spirits in the video, smiling as she received her food order. She was also heard thanking the workers.

At the start of the clip a fan greeted her by saying her signature catchphrase, ‘How you doin’?’ with the star smiling and returning the greeting.

Wendy’s diagnosis came one year after she was placed under a court-ordered legal guardianship that oversees both her finances and health.

Last month, attorneys for the star’s guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, claimed in new filings that Williams ‘has become cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.’

It was the latest update amid a legal wrangle over the star’s tell-all documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams? – which prompted widespread backlash when it aired in February.

However, a family insider hit back at the claim regarding William’s mental state and said: ‘She is more clear now than she’s ever been throughout the guardianship, which is a problem for some.’

Where Is Wendy Williams? was set to explore Williams’ life as she prepared to launch a new podcast- but featured shocking scenes showing the former host drinking vodka in bed and having panic attacks – leading to fan backlash against Lifetime.

Morrissey is now locked in a legal battle with the network over the documentary.

In a filing obtained by The US Sun last week, Morrissey’s attorneys called Williams ‘an acclaimed entertainer who, tragically, has been afflicted by early-onset dementia and, as a result, has become cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.

‘In January 2022, after becoming aware of a pattern of disturbing events concerning [Wendy’s] welfare and finances, Wells Fargo took the highly unusual step of initiating a guardianship proceeding on its own initiative in the Supreme Court of New York, New York County (the ‘Guardianship Proceeding’), to seek the court appointment of an independent guardian for [Wendy’s] financial affairs.

The filing further asked for parts of the case about Williams’ ‘health, familial relationships, and finances’ to be redacted to protect her privacy.

‘We respectfully request that the Court grant Plaintiff’s motion for limited redactions to protect non-public information from the Guardianship Proceeding that has been placed under seal by the court overseeing that proceeding.

However, just two months ago the beloved talk show host spoke exclusively with DailyMail.com and shared that she was doing well, before also slamming the documentary.

‘I am doing really good,’ she said in October. ‘The documentary sucked. I understand that it is up for an award now. Everything is going really well.’

New York lawyer Morrissey was assigned as her guardian after Wells Fargo froze her accounts in 2022, as a result of her financial adviser at the time claiming that she was of ‘unsound mind.’

In March, it was reported that Williams was allegedly paid $100,000 per episode for her involvement in the four-part docuseries.

At the same time, it was revealed that William’s guardian had filed a lawsuit against the parent company of Lifetime, A&E Television Networks with allegations of ‘blatant exploitation’ in ‘disgusting’ fashion.

Morrissey filed the lawsuit under temporary seal – which keeps details in the case protected from the public – in October, but the docs were unsealed and reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, revealing explosive accusations in the case.

‘This blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman with a serious medical condition who is beloved by millions within and outside of the African American community is disgusting, and it cannot be allowed,’ the legal team for Williams’ guardian told the court.

Morrissey added that the talk show host ‘did not have the capacity to consent,’ according to THR, and producers did not get her consent, as her court-appointed guardian, to produce it.

Williams was misled by producers into thinking that the documentary would be a ‘positive and beneficial’ project for her public image and reputation, the suit stated.

In response, A&E Networks argued that Morrissey has been ‘exceeding her authority’ in trying to get parts of the documentary changed and redacted.

The American multinational broadcasting company filed a countersuit which claimed that Williams had signed a talent agreement before she was ‘mentally incapacitated’ as was claimed by the guardian.

The popular network also claimed that there is no law against doing a documentary on a subject with dementia so, in effect, even if a talent agreement wasn’t signed nothing that they had done would be considered wrong.

The broadcasting company is suing Morrissey for attempting to infringe on A&E’s First Amendment rights as they give the example of Morrissey’s original suit filed in February in which she attempted to get a judge to stop the original documentary from being released.

A&E claimed that Morrissey had forced their production company to defend itself against ‘meritless claims’ from the documentary.

TMZ also claims A&E says in the countersuit that Morrissey is trying to deny Williams: ‘One of her last chances to exercise her autonomy and honestly reach her fans in exactly the frank and unfiltered manner that was the hallmark of her career.

Williams’ publicist previously blasted the Lifetime documentary that she signed her famous TV client up for.

Shawn Zanotti placed blame on the producers of the series, alleging the TV icon believed she was filming a program about her comeback – only for filmmakers to capture ‘a circus to her downfall.’

Zanotti, who has been working as a publicist for Williams since 2021, spoke with NBC News about her grievances with the making the four-part documentary.

In an interview with the outlet, Zanotti claimed: ‘I felt that [Williams] was being exploited. She thought we were focusing on the comeback of her career… She would be mortified.

‘There’s no way you can convince me that she would be OK with looking and seeing herself in that way.’

She also told People that she felt ‘lied to’ about it.

Despite having encouraged her client to sign up for the show, Zanotti later said: ‘I would never let Wendy put her name and brand on the line like that ever. She’s an icon. It’s not the story we signed up for and I feel lied to.

‘It’s so difficult for me to even watch. Wendy would be mortified.’

The Wendy Williams Show aired its final episode in June 2022 after 13 years – without Williams herself making an appearance.

She previously withdrew from the show in 2021 and embarked on what was initially supposed to be a temporary leave of absence to cope with health issues.