Wendy Williamsappears to be giving a rare look at her healing journey amid her ongoing health struggles.
Ina five-minute-long videoposted to her new@therealwendywilliamsonlineInstagram account, Williams is shown walking along a Florida beach while speaking to her son Kevin Hunter Jr., who filmed the footage. Williams said she visits Florida often because her “real family” is there, though her mother — who she mentioned in the clip — died in December 2020.
While it is unclear when this video was actually shot — Williams references her deceased mother in the present and misrepresents her own age throughout — a publicist who says they are acting as Williams' rep toldPage Sixthe clip was filmed Wednesday and that the television star misspoke.
“New York is fast-paced, which I love,” said Williams, whose talk show films in New York City. “I love [it] here in Florida as much as I do New York, but they are two very different things and people. But New York is my heart and Florida is a beautiful place — beautiful, regular. Sometimes weird in a good way. Aren’t we all, weird in a good way?”
At one point, Kevin asked about the rumors surrounding Williams' health issues. He said, “A lot of people have been wondering what you’ve been up to and they’ve been saying [sic] their prayers out and everything. What do you have to say to those people who think you’re up to whatever it is?”
“Excuse me, I am going back stronger. At 56 years old, there are things that happen to people,” Williams said, though she turned 57 in July.
“I would say things usually start about 40 and they go up from there, you know?” she continued. “So you’ve got to eat the right food.”
After going on to discuss her preference for eating vegan and vegetarian food at length, Williams added: “I want to be all I can be and get back to New York and get on down withTheWendy WilliamsShow.”
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Williams' ongoing health issues previously delayed the start of her namesake talk show’s 13th season.
At the time, she had tested positive witha breakthrough COVID-19 caseamid ongoing health complications tied toher Graves' disease battle. She later recovered from the virus but was still battling other health issues.
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The show eventually went on without her, premiering in mid-October withLeah Reminias guest host. Other stars includingSherri Shepherd,Michael Rapaport,Whitney CummingsandJerry Springerhave stepped in as well.
Recently, a source close to the situation told PEOPLE thatWilliams “won’t be returning to the show for the rest of this season.”
“Her healing is going slower than everyone had hoped. She continues to deal with a number of medical issues, including Graves' disease, and she and her team are taking it one day at a time,” the source said.
“But reports of a stroke, drugs or addiction issues or a dementia diagnosis are all false,” the insider added. “Whether Wendy can return in the fall will depend on how her healing goes over the summer. Her health is the most important thing.”
TMZreported that Shepherd, 54, will become the show’s “permanent guest host,” though a rep for the star later told PEOPLE she’s “thrilled to be invited back to guest host theWendy Williams Showthe week of February 21st” and had “no comment on these rumors.”
In the bank’s own filings to the court, they said they froze Williams' funds because “Wells Fargo has strong reason to believe that [Williams] is the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.” It wasn’t specified who or what was exploiting or influencing Williams, however.
TheWendy WilliamsShowairs weekdays (check local listings).
source: people.com
