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Wendy Williams is now at the center of a drama eerily similar to the one she once mocked: the court-ordered control of her life and finances. Interestingly, Britney Spears fans, who vividly remember Williams’ past digs at the pop star’s conservatorship, are calling it karma.
In 2022, the 60-year-old former host of The Wendy Williams Show voluntarily entered a guardianship following her health struggles, which included lymphedema and Graves’ disease. However, Williams now claims the arrangement has become suffocating. Speaking candidly on The Breakfast Club podcast earlier this week, she called her situation “emotional abuse” and likened it to being imprisoned.
“I am not cognitively impaired, you know what I’m saying? But I feel like I’m in prison,” Williams told host Charlamagne Tha God in a seemingly desperate bid to dismiss rumors about her mental state. “Do I seem that way, God—n it?” she shot back before adding, “This is what is called emotional abuse.”
Social Media Backlash: Britney Fans Cry Irony
For Britney fans, Williams’ predicament feels like poetic justice. The irony wasn’t lost on them as clips from Williams’ past resurfaced online. One viral post on X featured a scene from Williams’ documentary, where she flippantly discussed Spears’ conservatorship, implying that it was justified.
“So Wendy Williams is glad that the conservatorship happened to Britney Spears because she’s a ‘white girl?’ WTF!” wrote the user who shared the documentary clip. Another fan quickly accused Williams of perpetuating harmful narratives in the comments, saying, “This has ALWAYS been her mindset. It was so hard to even watch her show bc of the hot topic lies she would have made up to attack Britney.”
Someone else went straight for the jugular by pointing out the irony in the TV personality’s current situation, writing: “Wendy Williams used to say CONTROL HER To Britney when she was in her conservatorship. She used to say Britney is not ok/& should be controlled. Now she’s in a conservatorship.”
Williams’ Legacy Of Controversy
Before she retired from broadcasting, Williams built her empire by dishing out unfiltered opinions. From 2008 until its cancellation in 2022, The Wendy Williams Show was a ratings juggernaut, as it blended celebrity gossip with Williams’ trademark bluntness. But her no-holds-barred approach often landed her in hot water with some celebs and their fans.
Whether it was butchering Dua Lipa’s name on national TV, wishing “death” upon Spears’ family, or spilling salacious details about her own troubled marriage, Williams never shied away from controversy, and that’s what kept the show’s ratings up.
Yet, cracks in her life and health began to show at the peak of her career. During her live Halloween episode in 2017, she fainted on-air while dressed as the Statue of Liberty. Though she chalked it up to overheating, it was one of many incidents that hinted at deeper health issues. By 2019, her husband Kevin Hunter’s infidelity led to a high-profile divorce, and she later admitted to seeking treatment for substance abuse.
More Struggles And A Forced Conservatorship
In May 2022, Williams’ world came crashing down. A New York judge approved a guardianship after Wells Fargo labeled her an “incapacitated person,” citing concerns of financial exploitation. Williams’ access to her own fortune was revoked, leaving her with, as she put it, “$15” to her name. She claimed her beloved cats had been taken and contact with family restricted, according to Page Six.
Adding to the heartbreak, Williams’ health further deteriorated. In early 2024, her team revealed that she had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, conditions affecting her ability to communicate and process information.
Despite all this, those who’ve seen Williams recently believe she deserves more freedom. Loren LoRosa of The Breakfast Club, who visited her at the New York facility where she’s staying, said, “Wendy sounds as if she is doing a lot better than she was a few years ago… She’s tracking conversation way better and is more in control of what she’s expressing. [She] should be allowed to be closer to her family.”
The worst part about her present situation is how some Britney Spears fans delight over her misfortunes, believing she’s finally getting a dose of her own medicine.
