Wendy Williams’ Guardianship, Explained

Wendy Williams fans learned in 2023 that their favorite star was place under a guardianship.

But what exactly does that mean?

Well, it looks like we’re finally going to find out.

Lifetime has announced a new documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams?, will give an unprecedented look into the life of the former talk show host turned Hollywood recluse.

And their first hot topic? The guardianship.

Wendy Williams Has Guardian, But Who Is It?

“After Wendy Williams was placed under a financial guardianship and her hit talk show was unexpectedly canceled, she was determined to make a career comeback,” reads the press release from Lifetime announcing the new documentary.

Wendy has been out of the public spotlight for over year, and rumors about her health and finances have run rampant.

What little is known of the latter is still quite confusing to most. But let’s break it down:

In the spring of 2022, a New York judge appointed a guardian over Wendy’s finances. The decision was made after a public battle between Wendy and her bank, Wells Fargo, came to odds over how much accessibility she should have to her money.

According to her attorney, La’Shawn Thomas, Wendy tried to enlist the help of the bank to check her statements, as she suspected misconduct by her financial advisor.

But Wells Fargo refused, and filed a petition for guardianship. They claimed that Wendy was an “incapacitated person.” The bank additionally argued that she was the “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”

The decision was immediately rebuked by Wendy and her team.

“Wendy doesn’t agree with a financial guardian being appointed,” Wendy’s attorney told The Hollywood Reporter. “If it’s the court’s intention to have one appointed over her affairs for the long haul, she definitely isn’t going to accept that.”

Does Wendy Still Have A Guardian?

But all of this happened nearly two years ago. The question remains, is Wendy still under a guardianship?

“Wendy is under a guardianship. Everything that she does gets approved by the guardianship,” said her manager, Will Selby, in the summer in 2023.

At the time, Wendy’s son Kevin, was giving interviews suggesting that the team handling his mother’s affairs was taking advantage of her. Selby fiercely refuted the claim.

“[It’s] court-appointed guardianship. So, no one, even if they wanted to take advantage of her — everything has to get approved by that court,” he insisted.

However, viewers of the trailer for the Lifetime documentary were quick to pick up that not only is Wendy still under a guardianship, there is still questions from her family about whether she’s being robbed blind.

“I’m gonna tell you something, if it happens to me, it could happen to you,” says Wendy Williams in the documentary trailer after revealing she has “no money.”

Wendy William’s Lifetime Documentary

“With unparalleled access granted by Wendy to film with her and her family for nearly two years, what was captured was not what anyone expected.”

That is how Lifetime descirbes the over four hour special slated to premiere on Saturday, February 24. It will air over two nights.

In the last two years, the networks cameras followed Wendy during the tumultuous phase after losing her iconic talk show.

Viewers will get a “raw, honest and unfiltered reality of Wendy’s life,” including new insight into the financial guardianship.

Titled Where is Wendy Williams?, the documentary promises to address the burning questions fans still have. Questions like who truly has Wendy’s best interest at heart in her “delicate state of mind.”