ICYMI, the “Hot Topic” right now is Lifetime’s Where is Wendy Williams? Documentary series. No pun intended, but the verdict is in on part one of the tell-all docs, and the reactions across the board are not entirely black and white.
This project was intended to be a direct follow-up to the 2021 documentary Wendy Williams: What A Mess, a highly successful release for Lifetime that unpacked Williams’ messy divorce, her mental health battles, and more.
Despite the design by Lifetime, there is already plenty of controversy surrounding this so-called follow-up due to how Williams is being portrayed, the court battle with her “guardian” who tried to stop the series from seeing the light of day, and the recent statement from Williams on being diagnosed with progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the same disease that Bruce Willis is suffering from. If you don’t know, dementia is no joke, and sadly, Williams has it.
Was this new documentary a cringe-worthy hit piece on the former queen of daytime talk or just an unfiltered, albeit chaotic, look into where Williams’ life today? What’s clear is the chorus of reactions on social media is as strong as Williams’s revered persona.
Here are some of the comments from across the Twitterverse (X) as reported by today.com
Kevin @kevonstage wrote “That Wendy Williams documentary is SAD.”
Denise @eurodpt posted “I’m not sure who greenlit #WhereIsWendyWilliams.. in my opinion it wasn’t a good idea,”
Wednesday. @jeffchangx wrote “I’ve seen enough clips of #WhereIsWendyWilliams to know that this should NEVERRRRRRR have aired. It’s disgusting that they’e captured this lady’s most vulnerable moments like this.
Kello @Kello_Lello shared a video of Williams and her PR rep discussing a trip to California and commented “She is surrounded by ENABLERS and she is in denial and deluded into thinking she is still in control.”
Brittany Bea @healthyandfab said “The name of this should be “Where is Wendy William’s MONEY” #WendyWilliams.
It seems like people are intrigued, to say the least. Lifetime certainly produced the first part of this docuseries by pulling no punches, but should they have been more empathetic while offering the realities of Williams’ situation? Perhaps. Variety did a review and called the docuseries “Unsettling and Exploitative.”
Lifetime has not said much since the airing, but this entire project faced a legal hurdle just two days before it was set to air in a New York court over whether it could be released. As reported by People, the suit by Williams’ court-appointed guardian was filed almost immediately after her progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis. Lifetime stated: “Lifetime appeared in court today, and the documentary Where is Wendy Williams? will air this weekend as planned.”
Lifetime stood on business and did what they felt they had the right to do. Whether this SHOULD have been done is up to the viewers to decide. The viewership data is not out yet but it seems like the numbers will be huge. Wendy Williams: What a Mess! received 2.6 million viewers when it first aired, and Wendy Williams: The Movie bested all cable movies in the previous nine months among adults, according to Nielsen Media Research, as reported by Deadline.
Wendy is going through a lot, and one thing is for sure, Where is Wendy Williams? is just another chapter in her larger-than-life story. It won’t define her, and her legacy shall continue despite what anyone thinks of this documentary.
