Wendy Williams rushed to hospital as she leaves assisted living ‘prison’ after begging fans for help
Wendy Williams was rushed out of her assisted living facility on Monday, which she has compared to a prison, in order to undergo an cognitive evaluation at Lenox Hill Hospital.
In dramatic scenes, the embattled talk show host, 60, was led out to an ambulance after she had been seen begging fans for help.
The media personality, who was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in May 2023, is set to undergo an examine to determine if she is well enough to end her guardianship.
Around 11:15 a.m., Williams was taken to the hospital after dropping a note down to paparazzi, from her fifth-story room, with a desperate plea for help.
The handwritten note read: ‘Help! Wendy!!’
According to family sources close to Williams, the move is seen as a relief for the star who sees the medical intervention as a rescue effort.
‘The family has been waiting for today for many years,’ a source tells DailyMail.com.
Wendy Williams was rushed out of her assisted living facility, which she has compared to a prison, in New York City to Lenox Hill Hospital to undergo an cognitive evaluation
‘This is the beginning of the end of this nightmare. Wendy is so grateful for her family and friends who have fought so hard to put an end to all of this. Those who are responsible will be held accountable.’
A source told TMZ that ‘a caregiver not associated with the guardianship’ ordered the trip and test for the legendary talk show amid concern over her confined lifestyle.
Last month, the star got emotional whilst ‘locked in a room’ as she conducted a live phone interview with Harvey Levin.
As she described her current living situation, she broke down in tears and pressed her hand against the window while she sobbed.
Speaking in TMZ Presents: Saving Wendy, which is available to stream on Tubi, Levin explained that filming the window of her room was the only way to do an interview with the star who told him that she had only been allowed outside twice in 30 days.
‘Because we can’t get a camera in and she can’t really have any visitors. She cannot go outside,’ he noted.
Levin continued: ‘She’s been out twice in the last 30 days. She has no internet she… she feels like a prisoner.’
The documentary was filmed on a sidewalk below the facility she is at, with the camera angled upwards at her fifth story window since the former talk show host is not allowed to have visitors.
The media personality, who was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in May 2023, is set to undergo an examine to determine if she is well enough to end her guardianship
Around 11:15 a.m., Williams was taken away by ambulance after dropping a note down to paparazzi, from her fifth-story room, with a desperate plea for help (her handwritten note pictured)
In a snippet shared by the outlet, Williams said her life within the past year has been ‘isolated.’
‘[The people here are] in their 90s and 80s. I eat lunch and dinner in my bedroom,’ she claimed. ‘I don’t eat out there with the people that live here just ’cause it’s so goddamn depressing.’
She added: ‘There is a bathroom, there’s a closet and the TV which was purchased by me through the guardian person.’
Levin questioned, ‘Are you allowed to go out?’
‘No, no. I am not allowed to go out,’ the star explained. ‘I can call you, but you can’t call me.’
Williams expressed that she has ‘asked the guardian person for an iPad [for] years it seems like. But an iPad – can I please have my telephone back? Can I please be able to call, you know, my family?
According to family sources close to Williams, the move is seen as a relief for the star who sees the medical intervention as a rescue effort (seen last month)
‘The family has been waiting for today for many years,’ a source tells DailyMail.com. ‘This is the beginning of the end of this nightmare. Wendy is so grateful for her family and friends who have fought so hard to put an end to all of this’
‘What is the problem with me calling and talking to friends of mine? They’re not allowed to come in here – friends of mine. You know what I’m saying?’
The clip has been circulating just as the beloved talk show host launched her next big assault on the guardianship that has kept her confined and largely away from her family and friends over the past two years.
Last month, Williams signed an affidavit, in which she asked the judge overseeing her guardianship case to end the arrangement.
In the legally binding document, Williams reportedly says she has ‘regained capacity’ to function independently, and she says she no longer requires a guardian to oversee her.
She had a guardianship overseen by Sabrina Morrissey instituted in 2022.
Last month, the star got emotional whilst ‘locked in a room’ as she conducted a live phone interview with Harvey Levin (pictured in 2019)
Williams still has several steps ahead of her before she can end the guardianship, however, and the judge will ultimately need to be swayed by her if she hopes to regain her freedom.
In order to do that, the former radio host will next attempt to prove that she does not have frontotemporal dementia, contrary to how doctors had previously diagnosed her.
She averred in her affidavit that she was not suffering from the neurological condition, and sources told TMZ that she will be seeing a doctor on Tuesday for a new evaluation to hopefully confirm as much.
Notably, frontotemporal dementia is a permanent and progressive condition, so the former Wendy Williams Show host hopes that her apparent improvement in functioning will indicate that she couldn’t be suffering from the disease.
Williams recently hired a new attorney to help her end the guardianship, and they were responsible for selecting the new doctor she will be seeing.
According to the publications sources, her attorney plans to file an Emergency Order to Show Cause the day after the testing, which should force the judge to weigh in on ending the guardianship.
Last month, Williams signed an affidavit, in which she asked the judge overseeing her guardianship case to end the arrangement.
She’s hoping the judge will agree and end things then and there, but if they deny the request and keep the guardianship as its currently constituted, Williams will allegedly request that her case go before a jury who can determine if she’s able to care for herself and run her own finances without the need of a guardian figure.
The star kicked started the year with a call to The Breakfast Club to plea for freedom from her guardianship and shut down claims that her ongoing dementia battle has made her ‘permanently incapacitated.’
Wendy stated to the shows’ hosts: ‘I am not cognitively impaired, but I feel like I am in prison. I am definitely isolated.
‘To talk to these people who live here, that is not my cup of tea. I keep the door closed.’
The former Wendy Williams Show host described her stark difference of her daily life as she noted: ‘I watch TV. I listen to the radio. I watch the window. I sit here, and my life goes by.’
Wendy added that she no longer has the company of her pet cats and alleged that they are now ‘gone’ – claiming that they had been taken despite her ‘wanting them with her.’
The TV star revealed that she ultimately hopes to move to Florida so she can live there with her family.
For now the star is just focused on being able to travel out to Miami this month in order to celebrate her beloved dad’s birthday.
The Wendy Williams Show aired its final episode in June 2022 after 13 years – without the star 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.
