Wendy Williams’ guardianship is getting messier as details continue to surface. According to The U.S. Sun, the media personality’s longtime friend, Regina Schell, said Williams’ court-appointed guardian blocked her when she confronted her about the (almost) $55 million missing from the famed radio/TV icon’s bank.
Schell made the shocking reveal in an affidavit submitted to a New Jersey court regarding Williams’ ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, who accused her guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, of shadily handling her finances. In April, Morrissey hit the headlines when she argued that Hunter had been overpaid in spousal support and demanded he return the $100,000+ owed. As previously told by PEOPLE, Hunter was upset after his alimony check from his former wife ceased in 2022, which he claimed Williams stopped issuing well before Morrissey’s management.
The U.S. Sun reported that Hunter persistently requested official records of Williams’ cash flow to be presented in the filings, but Morrissey never produced them. Additionally, he alleged that Morrissey is “under a RICO investigation” for another case and that she has “depleted” Williams’ accounts.
In lawsuit details obtained by PEOPLE, Morrissey stated that Williams’ income had been low since The Wendy Williams Show was canceled in 2022. However, her childhood bestie, Schell, recalled seeing million-dollar statements in the same year. At the time, Schell said Williams “wished to explore options regarding her estate” and leave Wells Fargo. Following the conversation, the 59-year-old allegedly met with Bank of America Private Banking Group, where Morrissey and Schell accompanied her.
Not too long after, Schell claimed she received a disturbing phone call from Williams’ publicist, recounting that she’d overheard Morrissey informing Williams that her pockets were dry. But… when Schell called Morrissey for clarification, the attorney was said to have cut all contact between the two and access from Williams. In the affidavit, Schell expressed that she hadn’t spoken to Williams since May 2023.
“I immediately contacted Ms. Morrissey. Ms. Morrissey and I have been in regular contact, and I fully expected her to tell me there was some sort of miscommunication, but instead, I was blocked from all communication with her, and denied access to my beloved friend,” Schell documented.
All About Wendy Williams’ Guardianship
In 2022, Wells Fargo froze Williams’ bank accounts after her then-financial advisor deemed her incapable of handling her money affairs. The former talk show host sought the court to grant an emergency order for the corporation to unfreeze her belongings.
Wells Fargo refuted that by arguing that their sudden move was warranted and a part of their client protection protocols should they “suspect financial exploitation, dementia, or undue influence.” Williams’ team petitioned that Wells Fargo had breached their fiduciary duty.
Later that year, a New York judge ultimately placed Williams under the financial guardianship of then-stranger Morrissey. However, in a mid-June 2024 interview with The U.S. Sun, Williams’ close friend, Schell, alleged that Williams has been restrained in more areas than her materials. She’s been pretty much shut off from her loved ones as well.
“Wendy was looking for real estate, she was talking to a financial expert at Bank of America to try to gain control of her finances,” she recently told the publication. “I don’t know how she went to at least 90% Wendy to now she’s incapacitated and can never see anyone again.”
Schell added, “She should be surrounded by friends and family right now, not isolated and alone.”
What Happened?! — Her Sudden Downfall
As you may know, Williams has long struggled with Graves’ disease (an autoimmune disorder affecting the thyroid gland) and Lymphedema (chronic swelling due to lymph fluid), which seemingly spawned a slew of medical issues.
The New Jersey native scarily fainted on the set of The Wendy Williams Show in 2017. Additionally, her battle with the conditions caused temporary hiatuses from the series, which suddenly concluded in 2022.
Since the suspension, there’s long been suspicion surrounding Williams’ health status. From paparazzi photos that showed a (seemingly) disheveled Williams to rumors about the legendary figure’s declining well-being, fans stood concerned.
Speculation was put to rest on February 22, 2024, when Williams’ team addressed the matter in a press release. They wrote, “Over the past few years, questions have been raised at times about Wendy’s ability to process information and many have speculated about Wendy’s condition, particularly when she began to lose words, act erratically at times, and have difficulty understanding financial transactions.”
The statement continued: “In 2023, after undergoing a battery of medical tests, Wendy was officially diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Aphasia, a condition affecting language and communication abilities, and frontotemporal dementia, a progressive disorder impacting behavior and cognitive functions, have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life.”
On February 24, Lifetime premiered the documentary event Where Is Wendy Williams? The project was initially filmed to follow Williams’ life after the show and launching her podcast, The Wendy Experience. Things took a controversial turn when viewers grew heartbroken seeing Williams’ current mental state and now-controlled lifestyle. Her erratic behavior and fight with alcoholism prompted the public to blame the camera crew for exploiting a suffering Williams.
According to PEOPLE, production wrapped when Williams was found in her apartment with her eyes rolled back. She later went to a rehab facility.
Williams’ family believes her troublesome divorce from Hunter, who fathered a baby with his mistress, in 2019, and the death of her mother the following year took a toll on her.
In the state of New York, which is where Wendy Williams’ guardianship is legalized, there are three types — via the New York State Unified Court System:
- Article 81 Guardianship: For incapacitated adults ages 18 and up. In this case, the guardian is only ordered to meet the individual’s needs, such as finance/property management and/or personal care.
- Article 17-A Guardianship: For adults 18 and up who have an intellectual or developmental disability that requires a guardian. According to the NYSUCS website, it grants the guardian the power to make all decisions.
- Guardianship of a Child: For children. At a parent or person’s request, they can be given guardianship when one or both parents are unable to properly care for the youngster.
Born Wendy Joan Williams in Asbury Park, New Jersey, the esteemed broadcaster rose to prominence as a shock jock in the ’90s before her nationally-syndicated phenomenon The Wency Williams Show. She became an infamous staple in Black entertainment and continued to hold that title for decades.
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