Wendy Williams’ guardian ‘horrified’ by documentary
Sabrina Morrissey was placed in charge of Williams’ affairs as she battles health conditions including primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and in February she filed a lawsuit against the Lifetime channel’s parent company, A E Television Networks asking for a temporary restraining to stop the broadcast of Where Is Wendy Williams?
Now the court documents have revealed Morrissey was “horrified” when she saw the trailer and branded the film “blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman”.
In the court documents – which were previously sealed but were made public on Thursday – Morrissey stated: “The trailer makes clear that the documentary is anything but positive. Instead, it cruelly portrays (Williams) as deeply confused and erratic, all while she is patently disabled due to her medical conditions. It is readily apparent that the complete promised documentary would even further portray [Williams] in a humiliating and demeaning manner. This blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman with a serious medical condition who is beloved by millions within and outside of the African American community is disgusting, and it cannot be allowed.”
Morrissey added she feared the film would “ruin her [Williams’] legacy, and eviscerate the remaining earning potential which she has by portraying her as a drunkard and a laughingstock.”
The temporary restraining order was granted but it was later overturned by a superior court and the documentary aired over two days on February 24 and 25.
In the court papers, Morrissey also claimed Williams’ condition meant she was “not capable of consenting” to the filming but Morrissey allowed the project to go ahead as long as it was given guardian approval. However, she alleges she was not given any sign off on the documentary before the trailer’s release.
A statement from Lifetime – obtained by People – insisted the TV company wants the rest of the case’s papers to be unsealed. It stated: We look forward to the unsealing of our papers as well, as they tell a very different story.”
Mark Ford, the executive producer of the documentary, previously told People they had been given the green light by Williams’ guardian. He said, “Wendy’s attorneys and the guardianship attorneys were consulted and signed off on [ the project]. The film was signed off on by Wendy, her management, her attorneys, the guardianship. They were aware of the filming all the way through. So, we did go by the book and get all the permissions that we needed to get. We went into this film thinking it was one thing, and the truth turned out to be another. Once we started seeing the truth of the situation, we couldn’t ignore it. And the film had to go in the direction of the truth.”
Where Is Wendy Williams? was filmed between August 2022 and April 2023 following Williams as she prepared to make a comeback with a new podcast, but was halted after the TV star suffered serious health issues and Williams’ affairs in May 2022.
