Wendy Williams: 'I Feel Like I'm in Prison'

Wendy Williams has broken her silence on her guardianship, saying she's living in what feels like "a prison." Last year, family members complained they were unable to contact the former talk show host and had no idea where she was after she was placed under a guardianship in 2022, then diagnosed with dementia. Her legal guardian described Williams as "cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated." But Williams denies that in a new interview. "I am not cognitively impaired. But I feel like I am in prison," the 60-year-old told Charlamagne tha God's Breakfast Club radio show by phone on Thursday, breaking down while discussing the possibility that she may never leave the New York care facility in which she finds herself, per the New York Post.

Williams had a legal guardian appointed after Wells Fargo raised concerns over her welfare and finances, per the New York Times. She was later diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, which has no cure. "Unfortunately, because of her diagnosis, Wendy's condition will only get worse with time and she will require care for the rest of her life," a lawyer for guardian Sabrina E. Morrissey says in a statement, per the Post. But Williams says her treatment amounts to "emotional abuse." "They won't allow you to leave or have visitors," she said of the unnamed facility. "You can't even leave and take a walk if you wanted to."

She said there's "something wrong" with the other residents on her floor, whom she described as in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, so she isolates herself in her room, eating all of her meals in bed. She watches TV, listens to the radio, looks out the window, and talks on the phone, though she suggested her phone capabilities are restricted. She also said she doesn't have access to the internet. "[I] sit here as my life goes by," she said. "My life is f--ked up." Williams' niece, Alex Finnie, who also phoned in, said her aunt was held in a "luxury prison" and was not afforded "the freedoms that she deserves." She said family members "want her free." The Times reports Morrissey's exact powers over Williams are unclear as many court filings have been sealed. (More Wendy Williams stories.)