by Thinus Ferreira

The troubled talk show host Wendy Williams who hasn’t been back and won’t be for the remainder of the current American talk show season says she’s not suffering from mental health problems – after Wells Fargo froze all of her bank accounts after her own financial advisor said Wendy is “not of sound mind” with Wendy now defaulting on payments.

After 2021’s “Lifetime” movie and documentary of Wendy Williams, it seems the project was premature with the next tumultuous chapter of Wendy Williams’ life playing out in 2022.

After numerous announcements of when the latest 13th season of The Wendy Williams Show – seen in South Africa and across the rest of sub-Saharan Africa on BET (DStv 129), would start – and multiple postponements citing Wendy’s ongoing health issues and ill health, the producers and Lionsgate distributor Debmar-Mercury who have a responsibility to deliver a show and new episodes, eventually decided to keep Wendy sidelined and to schedule a revolving roster of guest hosts. 

With Wendy Williams battling ongoing health issues, including the autoimmune disorder Graves’ disease, American trade publications revealed that Sherri Sheperd is likely to sign a contract to take over as the “permanent guest host” of The Wendy Williams Show. 

In September 2021 Wendy Williams was taken to a New York hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

The news that Sherri Sheperd is being lined up to replace Wendy barely broke when it was followed by a next wave: The American bank Wells Fargo freezing Wendy’s bank accounts and demanding a New York court hearing to determine if Wendy should be placed under guardianship the way that Britney Spears was and if Wendy is an “incapacitated person”.

Wendy Williams’ publicist Shawn Zanotti in a statement on Monday said that “Wendy wants the world to know that she strenuously denies all allegations about her mental health and well-being”, with her attorney claiming that Wendy is being exploited by those around her. 

“During this hiatus from the show, Wendy has employed holistic health professionals to help her reach optimal health during her treatment of Graves’ disease and thyroid concerns.”

Wendy told the court in a filed affidavit that “For more than two weeks, Wells Fargo has repeatedly denied my requests to access my financial assets, which total over several million dollars. I have submitted multiple written requests to Wells Fargo and I have visited various Wells Fargo branches in the South Florida area in an effort to resolve this matter outside of the courtroom.”

“To date, I have submitted and made over a dozen requests, regarding the financial damages resulting from Wells Fargo’s decision to unlawfully deny me access to my accounts.”

“As a result of my inability to access my financial assets, I have defaulted and I am at risk of defaulting on several billing and financial obligations, including, but not limited to, mortgage payments and employee payroll.”

Wells Fargo in a statement to American media said that “Wells Fargo’s priority is the financial well-being of Wendy Williams and the preservation of her privacy. As we have expressed to the court, Wells Fargo is open to working with Wendy Williams’ counsel to release funds directly to her creditors for bills historically and regularly paid from her accounts.”

Wells Fargo froze Wendy Williams out of her own bank accounts, with the Daily Mail reporting that Wendy Williams’ former financial advisor, Lori Schiller, claims that Wendy is “of unsound mind”. That claim led Wells Fargo to freeze Wendy’s bank accounts in mid-January.

The New York Post’s Page Six that obtained the court documents, reports that Wells Fargo told the court that it is “concerned about Wendy Williams’ situation. It is our hope that the Guardianship Part will imminently appoint a temporary guardian or evaluator to review the situation and ensure that Wendy Williams’ affairs are being properly handled”.