Beloved daytime talk show host and internet icon Wendy Williams was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, a loss of cognitive functioning often resulting in memory loss and trouble reasoning, in 2023 at the age of 59.
“The Wendy Williams Show”, which first premiered on July 14, 2008, often had flocks of people tuning into the show for Williams’ distinctively flamboyant personality and her honest, unfiltered opinion on hot topics within the news that quickly made Williams a beloved internet celebrity. Williams’ lack of social filter on the show coupled with “messy” cameramen and editing that made jabs at the live studio audience created scenarios that spanned the length of the web created internet traffic that quickly rocked Williams into stardom.
On Oct 31, 2017 during a festive holiday segment on Williams’ talk show, she had suddenly stopped speaking before stumbling on her feet and losing consciousness in front of a live studio audience. The audience, as well as a vast majority of the internet, wrote this incident off as yet another memorable moment from the show and that there was nothing of notable concern to address. What hundreds of thousands of people failed to realize is that this incident was a waving red flag of something much more dire happening underneath the surface of the happy-go-lucky Williams persona.
According to the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority Medsafe, “repeated falls and transient loss of consciousness may be associated with all forms of dementia.,” Medsafe said.
After this notable incident on “The Wendy Williams Show”, fans started to notice that Williams was more forgetful or seemingly confused during run-ins with the media– characteristics that became less and less of what many fans assumed was part of the Williams online persona.
According to the Better Health Channel, common characteristics of dementia, Williams’ diagnosis is a subcategory of dementia, include memory problems, increasing confusion, reduced concentration and personality or behavior problems along with many more symptoms that are ever present in Williams.
As early as August of 2022, during segments of the show Williams would seemingly be confused or very forgetful of topics she was just previously talking about and had told media outlets, such as The US Sun, that she “isn’t living in a reality… [and] often forgets who she is speaking to,” Williams said. In early March of 2024 fans of “The Wendy Williams Show” would fully understand the severity of her diagnosis when during an interview Williams would claim that she only remembered her divorce with TV Producer Kevin Hunter in 2019, seemingly forgetful of how damaging the divorce was for her mental health.
Fans of “The Wendy Williams Show” and internet cruisers who simply follow the highlights of her show alike wish the best for Williams, her health and her family. Those who have a loved one or have any questions or concerns about dementia or diagnostics similar to dementia can visit the Alzheimer’s Association Helpline for support.
