What We Know About Wendy Williams' Court-Ordered Guardianship
Renowned talk show host Wendy Williams and her court-ordered guardianship have been a topic of debate. This was apparent before the Lifetime docuseries "Where Is Wendy Williams?" debuted on February 24, 2024. Williams was initially placed in financial guardianship in May 2022 after Wells Fargo flagged her account due to suspected exploitation and her being incapacitated. This move arrived two years after Williams put her talk show on hiatus before it was canceled indefinitely. Now, with new answers regarding her health, particularly her frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, it's likely that guardianship is in her best interest. However, many who know Williams have criticized the court's decision.
Williams' former attorney, LaShawn Thomas, criticized the guardianship, believing that the beloved talk show host's well-being has deteriorated since she was placed in it. Her family, such as sister Wanda, has also slammed the courts for not considering her or other loved ones to be the guardian, expressing her frustration in the documentary, "We are her family, and you tell me that I'm not capable of taking care of my sister. What would you do? What should I do?" via (The U.S. Sun). Ahead of the "Where Is Wendy Williams" premiere, the guardian sued the network in a bold move that ultimately revealed their identity as Sabrina Morrissey, who'd been scrutinized several times throughout her career.
The family didn't know the identity of the guardian until the lawsuit
Sabrina Morrissey had remained unnamed until she filed the lawsuit on February 22, 2024, just two days before "Where Is Wendy Williams?" premiered. In her filing, which named Lifetime's parent company A+E Networks, Morrissey sought an injunction that would stop the series from airing. While much of the lawsuit remains sealed, it served as the first time Williams' loved ones learned of Morrissey's identity.
Williams' best friend, Regina Shell, slammed Morrissey following the lawsuit's filing and docuseries premiere. In a February 2024 interview with Chris Cuomo's NewsNation series, Shell questioned what really happened to Williams and whether or not reports of her having dementia were legitimate, stating, "I haven't heard an official diagnosis from a doctor" (via Daily Mail). She also accused Morrissey of failing to provide Williams with food, allegedly forcing Shell and others to use delivery services to send Williams meals. Unfortunately, this would not be the first time that Morrissey's abilities as a guardian have been called into question.
Morrissey was previously sued for allegedly trapping another client in a conservatorship
In November 2022, former client Jose Verdugo sued Sabrina Morrissey for $30 million. Morrissey had been Verdugo's conservator from January 19, 2010, until October 7, 2015. According to the suit, Morrissey was accused of conspiring with another attorney to trick Verdugo into a conservatorship after he won a $5.5 million personal injury judgment. The lawsuit named Morrissey and ten other attorneys who worked with her law firm, Morrissey & Morrissey. It appears that the case was voluntarily dropped in August 2023, though it's unclear why.
Following the broadcast of "Where Is Wendy Williams," it has come to light that several individuals from her team, who were prominently featured in the documentary, are no longer working for the star. Wendy Williams' controversial manager and jeweler, Will Selby, and her publicist, Shawn Zanotti, have reportedly distanced themselves from the former radio personality. However, likely to her family's dismay, Morrissey remains her guardian. Unfortunately for the family, this likely won't change until the court determines otherwise.