Wendy Williams is known to have a spicy take or two on her talk show. But it was her resounding “nope” to actress Tabitha Brown’s proclamation that she was helping her husband retire and live out his dreams that got a swift response from all corners. Brown clapped back at Williams’ insinuations and, true to form, the Internet has a lot of spicy takes of their own.
But let’s rewind a bit more. On this week’s The Wendy Williams Show, the longtime host commented that Tabitha Brown’s marriage was going to be “on real rocky ground” one day. She insinuated that Brown’s husband would squander any funds for his dreams and that he would resent her for the decision. Brown definitely took those comments as fighting words but decided to respond in the most loving, Godly way possible. See her response on Instagram below:
As you can imagine, Tabitha Brown praying for true love and compassion over Wendy Williams got a lot of reactions from the Internet. Fellow actress Yvonne Orji (of HBO’s Insecure fame) was one of the many to react to Brown's post. In a comment, Orji noted, "This what grace + mercy + ‘keep my man’s name out yo mouff,’ but with the joy of the Lord, look like."
Tabitha Brown spoke clearly and carefully in her response to Wendy Williams’ predictions about her marriage. But viewers still interpreted some shade underneath it all. Particularly, folks believe Brown at one point was alluding to Williams’ struggle with drug addiction in the past. On Instagram, Angel Laketa Moore (who has starred in shows like ER and Atypical) joked in the comments:
My God TUH-DAY!! You gathered her as if she was Donna and you were putting her into a bun. When you said ‘I pray that you find someone who sees when you are NOT WELL…’ I had to lay down and take a nap and start the day all over again. I was not ready!!!
A lot of other Internet commentaries similarly saw Tabitha Brown’s response as very pointed. Comedian KevOnStage even said in the comments, "My prayer is that I never am in the receiving end of your love prayers cuz JESUS!"
This isn't Wendy Williams first rodeo, though. Last year, the talk show host got into a surprising feud with Dionne Warwick. Similar to Tabitha Brown, Warwick’s response was seen as perfectly executed underhand shade. At the time, Warwick said she didn't believe she had “to be mean to get noticed.”
Much like with the Wendy Williams-Dionne Warwick feud, Twitter is having a field day over Tabitha Brown's clap back at the popular talk show host. Interpretations again saw Brown to be alluding to Williams’ own rocky relationship with her ex-husband. See this user's tweet on the supposed shade:
It's possible to see the hints underneath Tabitha Brown's response. But to be fair, Wendy Williams opened up the comparison to her life and marriage in her initial hot topic segment. Moreover, Brown seemed to be also genuinely wishing for better things for Williams, despite how hurtful the host’s words might have been. It seems the Internet plans to take the Tabitha Brown Approach in the future:
Nevertheless, the Wendy Williams-Tabitha Brown back-and-forth over marriage dynamics is giving me serious Real Housewives reunion vibes. And I'm not the only one seeing it. Check out this user’s reaction using an A+ Real Housewives of Atlanta's Phaedra Parks throwback:
Needless to say, the internet is going to be talking about Tabitha Brown's subtle response for quite some time, and it certainly sounds like a nightmare Wendy Williams. Unfortunately for the talk show host, it’s now too late to consider editing the episode to prevent further backlash.
