Wendy Williams’ son, Kevin Hunter Jr., disclosed in the two-part Lifetime documentary “Where Is Wendy Williams?” that his mother’s frontotemporal dementia stems from her struggles with alcoholism.
He elaborated that alcohol had detrimental effects on her mental state and cognitive functions, impacting her “headspace and her brain.”
“I was able to really learn more about things going on with my mother internally,” the 23-year-old shared in Sunday’s episode.
“[Doctors] basically said that because she was drinking so much, it was starting to affect her headspace and her brain. So, I think they said it was alcohol-induced dementia.”
Williams Wendy, aged 59, initially became aware of her brain damage in 2019 during her stay at a rehab facility in Florida. However, it wasn’t until 2023 that she received the official diagnoses of dementia and aphasia.
Alex Finnie, the niece of the former shock jock, disclosed that she became aware of her aunt’s diagnosis in 2022. She admitted to having suspicions about her aunt’s health when she noticed Wendy Williams began to forget memories and facts.
“But after seeing my aunt and really spending time with her in a state where she’s in right now, I quickly realized that things were just not normal,” she said in the doc.
“It’s heartbreaking.”
Finnie further mentioned that Wendy Williams’ condition was exacerbated by several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the passing of her mother, and her divorce from Kevin Hunter Sr.
The docuseries depicted Wendy Williams regularly consuming alcohol despite her well-documented history of substance abuse. However, her former representative Shawn Zanotti dismissed concerns, asserting that the media personality “knows her limits.”
Meanwhile, Wendy Williams’ former attorney, LaShawn Thomas, expressed skepticism regarding the star’s diagnosis. Instead, he attributed her condition to the court-ordered guardianship, ahead of the show’s premiere on Saturday.
Thomas posted an old video on Instagram showing Williams looking healthy while sitting in bed and expressing enjoyment for working out at the gym.
“You can clearly see the difference between Wendy’s well-being during her time here in Florida with her son caring for her and her lack thereof in New York under this ‘guardianship,’” Thomas wrote in the caption.
“These Wendys are not the same. How did her health deteriorate so quickly, and why isn’t her only child allowed to be by her side. She wasn’t like that when he cared for [her].”
The Miami Entertainment Law Group attorney alleged that he filmed Wendy Williams just two weeks before the court ordered her to return to New York to be placed under guardianship, a decision implemented in 2022.