Over the last few years, we’ve learned a lot about all the health issues Wendy Williams has faced alongside professional challenges, like The Wendy Williams Show ending. Now, there’s a Lifetime docuseries, Where Is Wendy Williams?, that dives into a lot of those sensitive topics. Following its premiere, the talk show vet’s project was met with backlash, with some claiming it was exploitative. However, now two of the producers of the series are opening up about how Williams reportedly feels about it.
Erica Hanson, a producer on the docuseries, told ET that Williams and her son Kevin Hunter Jr. were producers on the project, and they wanted to “be able to tell her story so honestly and truthfully.” The producer went on to say that making this wasn’t easy, and the story they were telling was one full of hard moments. To that point, she said:
This is not an easy story to watch or to tell. But hopefully we did it truthfully, with integrity and sensitively.
Where Is Wendy Williams? covers topics like Williams' financial struggles and her health troubles, which include memory loss, addiction, Graves disease and lymphedema. The docuseries was filmed between August 2022 and April 2023, per Today, and also addresses things like Williams being put under the control of a court-appointed guardian and the end of her show. Right before the documentary’s premiere, it was confirmed that she had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and her family opened up about her health struggles.
Despite the project facing backlash regarding how it portrayed Williams’ health issues, with some calling it exploitative the article noted, producer Mark Ford said she “appreciates” the “love and attention” she’s received from fans since its release on the 2024 TV schedule in February. He said:
She's still fabulous, you know, even in the dire situation she's in. Wendy has an incredible spirit, you know, and I think people can feel that. [And] she really appreciates the love and attention that her fans have given her because of this platform.
Along with this claim, Ford noted that he hasn’t spoken with her since the documentary premiered. However, he has kept in touch with the Williams family, and he noted that they are “supportive of the project." He said he’s also met with people close to the talk show host, and they reportedly said:
…she has seen the film, and she's fine with it, according to the people that have spoken to her.
While they were making the documentary, Hanson explained that Wendy Williams didn’t put many “limitations” on them. She said the TV personality was “very direct” about what she would and would not do, but overall, there wasn’t a lot off limits. To that point, Ford explained:
Wendy is the ultimate truth-teller and she said, from the very first time we sat down with her, 'There are no boundaries. Ask me anything. You can film anything. I am a public person. I live publicly. This is my story.' And so we just followed that direction -- into unfortunately very uncomfortable places.
Overall, this docuseries covers a lot of very personal challenges Wendy Williams has faced. Viewers weren’t sure what to make of it, as many thought it might have dived too deep. However, the producers claimed that the former host wanted to go to those places and talk about them.
As we learn more about the response to Where Is Wendy Williams?, and if the beloved talk show host directly speaks up about the project, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
