WENDY Williams looked beautiful wearing a sparkle dress at her son Kevin Hunter Jr’s college graduation in a very rare outing during her heartbreaking dementia battle.
In photos and videos exclusively obtained by The U.S. Sun, Wendy, 60, who was using an electric wheelchair to enter and exit the venue, sat in the audience of the Florida International University ceremony on Thursday afternoon, December 19.
Wendy was seen riding her bright red electric wheelchair while sporting Chanel No. 5 shoes with her sparkly dress and accessorized with a Louis Vuitton over-the-shoulder purse.
The former daytime TV host’s wheelchair had its own satchel attached to the handlebars with an NYC patch, a Chanel patch and a smiley face patch among others.
Her son, Kevin, 24, appeared happy and calm as he walked through the students’ entrance and stopped to shake a police officer’s hand.
Other Williams family members were also in attendance.
The former TV host’s dapper father Thomas Williams Sr., 93, was brought into the graduation via a wheelchair pushed by her sister Wanda Finnie, who also looked chic for the occasion.
Wendy beamed and wiped away tears as her son crossed the graduation stage on Thursday.
Kevin Jr walked during the graduation for the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs.
According to the commencement booklet, Kevin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
Her son notably took longer than the typical four years to graduate after taking time out of his schooling to care for his ailing mother during 2021 and 2022.
Wendy’s only child had begun his college experience at Barry University in Miami, and transferred to FIU in recent years.
The graduation sighting comes after Wendy was seen in Florida briefly over the weekend in a video shared on Instagram.
In the clip, Wendy sat outside Sista Sara’s Shonuff Oysters, a Fort Lauderdale restaurant, where she was accompanied by her son and her nephew, Travis Finnie.
In the video, a fan came up to the car greeted Wendy with her infamous catchphrase “How you doin’?”
Wendy smiled and returned the greeting.
Wendy Williams is ‘permanently incapacitated’ by tragic dementia battle, her guardian claims
‘PERMANENTLY INCAPACITATED’
The former queen of daytime TV’s appearances in Florida come after The U.S. Sun exclusively revealed that her guardian Sabrina Morrissey’s legal team called her “permanently incapacitated” in documents pertaining to a legal fight with Lifetime over the Where is Wendy Williams? documentary that aired earlier this year.
In the filing on the star’s behalf, the guardian called her “an acclaimed entertainer who, tragically, has been afflicted by early-onset dementia and, as a result, has become cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.”
The description of the extent of Wendy’s illness was a devastating blow to her loyal fans, who have continued to hold out hope for a comeback from their queen of TV.
The guardian’s filing asked the judge to allow certain information pertaining to Wendy’s “health, familial relationships, and finances” to be redacted from the record to protect her privacy.
SCARY DIAGNOSIS
As The U.S. Sun previously exclusively reported, Wendy was diagnosed with alcohol-related brain damage in 2019, three years before she was placed in a guardianship.
The daytime talk show host was given the diagnosis while at a rehab center in Delray Beach, Florida, multiple sources claimed.
Wendy was absent for the entirety of her 13th season of her eponymous Wendy Williams Show from 2021 to 2022.
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.
She officially lost her show at the end of the season when comedian Sherri Shepherd took over her time slot with the same production company.
Kevin Jr. stepped into help care for his mother in Florida before a New York judge determined the star should be placed in a guardianship.
Wendy returned to her apartment in New York City in the spring of 2022.
While in the city, headline after headline emerged about the star seeming unwell while she was out and about, compounded by interviews in which she appeared disoriented.
