Wendy Williams may be out of rehab and on the hopeful path to her media career return, but apparently all is still not well with the former talk show host, at least when it comes to her relationships with her family. Since leaving a wellness center in October for an alcohol problem that reportedly had her “on death’s door,” Williams has apparently not been in contact with family members, and as the holidays approach, that silence is not OK with her brother. Tommy Williams called out his sister for causing pain to her elderly father by failing to reach out.
The media personality’s health has been the subject of much speculation, after she was unable to return to The Wendy Williams Show for its final season, due to COVID, Graves disease and other concerns. Apparently her addiction also became an issue, and Tommy Williams spoke with The Sun about his sister’s behavior since returning to rehab, saying her failure to reach out to her family has been particularly hard on her 91-year-old father. In his words:
Wendy hasn't been in communication the way we anticipated. Everybody's able to kind of shrug it off, but it's painful when it comes to her father, it's painful. I think it's necessary for her to see him and let him know what her status is, but she doesn't communicate with him. He's 92 in February, and he's in great shape, but she's really missing out. It is more painful because this is the month of our mother's passing, and now she hasn't progressed with her relationship with her father. I can't understand it. It's really Wendy's loss.
Wendy Williams’ mother died in 2020, and despite their father still being in good health months shy of his 92nd birthday, Tommy Williams is all too aware the time they have left with him is precious. He went on to say that he tries not to bring Wendy up to his father, because he can see the pain in his eyes when he says he hasn’t heard from her.
If the former talk show host, who announced she’s making her return to media with a new podcast, The Wendy Experience, is planning a trip to Florida to spend the holidays with her family, she hasn’t made those plans known to her brother. And Tommy Williams said because it’s the holidays, he has no problem calling out Wendy, telling the trade:
This is the holidays — this is the point where I'm going to be on the attack and lambasting her behavior because the biggest gift my father could have is knowing his daughter is doing okay — or at least what the official status is of Wendy. I'm frustrated because as days go in, days go out. The absence is the big monster in the room and all Wendy has to do is show up. She wouldn't have to do anything, say anything, don't come baring [sic] gifts- just be a family member.
Tommy Williams has spoken out about his sister before, specifically in the months before she sought treatment for her addiction. In July he talked about the heartbreaking and frustrating situation he was in, where he wanted to help Wendy Williams, but she wouldn’t acknowledge anything was wrong. In August, Tommy said it was “unnerving” that Wendy said in an interview she’d gotten married the previous week, which was not true, and in September it was reported that she kept forgetting her show had been canceled.
Since leaving the wellness center, Wendy Williams decided that another TV show as not the road for her, and she announced plans to start the new podcast. While no projected premiere date has been announced for The Wendy Experience, she did tell her followers to “#StayTuned,” as she posted an Instagram photo from the comfort of her iconic purple chair.
Fans are hoping she remains well enough to return to the airwaves one way or another, after The Wendy Williams Show was replaced by the series’ guest host Sherri Shepherd with her own namesake show Sherri. Keep an eye on what’s coming up in the new year with our 2023 TV schedule.
