WENDY Williams’ first step to freedom has been granted as the star battles her guardianship in court after being locked up at a New York City senior living facility.
In exclusive photos and videos obtained by The U.S. Sun, Wendy, 60, beamed on her way out of court on Monday after she faced the judge who holds the keys to her freedom from the restrictive guardianship she is in under Sabrina Morrissey.
After the hearing, Wendy stopped and chatted with a photographer who asked her if court went her way.
She responded “It did.”
Then when asked if the emergency petitions went in her favor, she responded, “They did, thank you!”
The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal Judge Lisa Sokoloff agreed to allow the former queen of daytime TV to move from the secured memory unit that Wendy has called a “luxury prison.”
She lived there for the past half year to an unsecured floor in the independent living section at the facility.
As The U.S. Sun previously reported, Wendy’s attorney, Sadatu Salami, filed an emergency petition last week to have the star moved from her restrictive living arrangement, an issue which seems to have been at least temporarily resolved in court on Monday.
“She will be in like a private condo now. She will have much more freedom to come and go as she pleases, she’ll be able to have visitors, and she’ll be free to leave when she wants,” the insider said.
Wendy, who has never been photographed at guardianship court before, was there for a number of other important reasons as well.
“Her team will also begin settlement talks for the guardianship,” the insider said.
“Ultimately Wendy wants completely out of the arrangement, but there are some tests she’ll have to face moving forward to see just how much freedom she will be given, and if that means she’s entirely free from the guardianship, or if she will be granted less oversight in the future with some other legal arrangement.
“But all that will be determined in the coming weeks.”
The source continued, “Basically the judge took issue with the cognitive test she took last week at Mt. Sinai.
“The judge said that doesn’t prove incapacitation it just proves that she is coherent, cognitive and alert.
“So Wendy will be doing another, full cognitive workup to determine her cognitive ability and get a neurological exam for her frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.”
The U.S. Sun’s Jess Finn talks Wendy Williams on the Hollywood Raw Podcast
An insider added that the judge on Monday was open to hearing Wendy’s wishes, and her team is now working towards a settlement.
They are seeking to have a trial for Wendy in her quest to be released from the guardianship, while her legal team is also trying their best to save her from extraneous legal fees too.
While inside the court, Wendy’s niece Alex Finnie joined for the first half of the guardianship hearing.
As The U.S. Sun has previously reported, Alex has become involved in the fight to free her aunt from the guardianship.
Wendy has railed against her guardianship and the restrictive unit she has been held in for the past several months, The U.S. Sun previously reported.
She has also hit out at the team of attorneys on her payroll, who she said she neither hired nor wanted.
The iconic television host has raised significant concerns about the memory care unit where she currently resides, describing it as a secured floor she is not allowed to leave.
According to The U.S. Sun, an investigation by Adult Protective Services was initiated two weeks ago concerning Wendy’s situation, ultimately leading to her hospitalization on Monday, March 10.
Wendy’s guardian did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES INVESTIGATION
Earlier this week, a source revealed to The U.S. Sun that Wendy’s legal guardian had sent her to visit her father in Florida with a credit card that had no available funds.
How this alleged oversight occurred remains unclear.
“The guardian provided her with a credit card that didn’t have any funds on it during her trip to Miami,” the source claimed.
The insider alleged, “During her trip to see her father in Miami last month for his birthday, the credit card given to her by Sabrina was declined and someone else had to pay for her purchases.”
Wendy has consistently voiced her dissatisfaction with the restrictive guardianship arrangement, openly criticizing the senior care facility where she resides.
She has likened it to a “luxury prison.”
The former Wendy Williams Show host has alleged she is being held in the facility’s memory care unit, claiming she is unable to leave her floor because the elevator is key-operated.
EFFORTS TO TERMINATE THE GUARDIANSHIP
As previously reported by The U.S. Sun, Wendy’s guardianship attorney has officially filed a motion to terminate the restrictive legal arrangement.
Wendy Williams Alcohol-Related Brain Damage, Aphasia & Frontotemporal Dementia Diagnoses
By The U.S. Sun’s Senior Reporter Jessica Finn, who has reported on Wendy Williams for the past seven years.
As The U.S. Sun exclusively reported, Wendy Williams was diagnosed with alcohol-related brain damage in 2019 during a rehab stint in Florida.
An insider explained that a brain scan was done as part of Wendy’s rehab stay in Delray Beach.
A neurologist sat down with the star, her son, and her then-husband, Kevin Hunter Sr.
“The doctor explained to them that Wendy was suffering from alcohol-related brain damage.
“They told her that her alcohol abuse had done permanent damage to the layers in her brain,” the insider said.
“She was warned then and there that if she continued to drink, the damage would only get worse.”
In that meeting, they gave Wendy a devastating prognosis.
The doctors at the rehab foretold of the eventual decline of Wendy’s cognitive abilities, which have become apparent to those who have come in contact with the star in recent years.
“They told her that if she kept drinking she would continue to grow more forgetful, that she wouldn’t remember people’s names, and eventually, she could forget who people even were,” the source said.
After a comment call was sent to Wendy’s team, they released a statement saying Wendy had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia in 2023.
“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances,” the statement read.
This effort appears to conflict with a recent filing made by her guardian, Sabrina, in connection to the Lifetime case regarding the Where Is Wendy Williams? documentary.
In that filing, Sabrina’s legal team indicated that Wendy would undergo another evaluation to determine whether the guardianship should be adjusted.
However, the filing concluded with an ominous note, “The Guardian has no intention of pursuing litigation in the highly unlikely event that the new medical examination determines that W.W.H. now has the mental capacity to manage the A&E matter.”
Wendy’s hugely successful daytime talk show came to an end in 2022 after personal challenges prevented her from appearing during its entire final season.
