
Wendy Williams opens up on 'horrific situation' in Mother's Day message amid guardianship drama
Wendy Williams got heads scratching after posting a cryptic Mother's Day message about her 'horrific situation' on social media on Saturday.
The TV personality, 60, has been residing at an assisted living facility in the state of New York after being placed under the guardianship of Sabrina Morrissey in 2022 amid her ongoing battle with dementia.
Wendy raised eyebrows as she failed to mention her son Kevin Jr, 24, in a post that read: 'HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY TO ALL MOMS. We'd also like to take this time to say THANK YOU to each and every one of you who have gotten behind exposing this horrific situation.'
The post continued: 'Every prayer, every like, every comment, every video, every signature on our petitions, WENDY THANKS YOU!!!'
The message concluded with, 'We ask for your continued alliance as we continue to push forward with actions. Updates coming soon!!'
Wendy is mom to son Kevin Jr., 24, whom she shares with ex-husband Kevin Hunter. The pair were married from 1999 until their split in 2019 when he fathered a baby with a mistress. Their divorce was finalized the following year.
Kevin Jr. was previously accused of mishandling his mother's money and taking a large amount from her bank account in 2022.
Wendy's funds were later frozen and court filings gave an explanation for the bank taking that step, according to People.
'Wells Fargo has strong reason to believe that [Williams] is the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.'
The bank also made the decision due to 'reports of the financial advisor, who has recently witnessed telltale signs of exploitation, including [Williams]'s own expressed apprehensions' and 'other independent third parties who know [Williams] well and share these concerns.'
The 24-year-old later denied the allegations in the Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?
A few months earlier in March of this year, it was revealed that the former talk show host has forgiven her son following the financial drama.
The star's health care advocate, Ginalisa Monterroso, informed People at the time: 'What the misconception is, what people have to understand is that Wendy told the world now that this happened three years ago.
'So that's something that they were able to get through. That will always be her son, unconditional love.
She continued: 'And that's pretty much, it was big news to everybody. But again, this happened three years ago.'
Williams was last spotted out in public on April 11 as she joined pals at Fresco by Scotto in NYC.
In photos taken at the time, the former talk show host held a big grin on her face as she enjoyed dessert with niece Alex Finnie, Baruch Shemtov and Rosanna Scotto.
One day earlier, Wendy had also left her assisted living facility - which she has compared to a 'prison' - to have dinner with Don Lemon in the Big Apple.
It came just one day after the star's guardian reportedly denied Wendy from having dinner with her niece and new lawyer.
Wendy was placed under the guardianship of Sabrina Morrissey in 2022 - and last year in November she claimed that Williams was 'permanently incapacitated' by her dementia battle.
Back in 2023, the star was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
When Dom Lemon brought up her guardian's allegations, Wendy said, 'I don't know how much I can talk without being punished.'
She later added, 'I'm not in a good position. My life is screwed up. You know, this guardian mess is - please, look, I am isolated. I feel like I'm in prison. I feel like, you know, they're trying to control me and everything that I do.'
Also in April, Sabrina Morrissey reportedly refused to allow Wendy to leave the assisted living facility called Coterie to have dinner with her niece and new attorney Joe Tacopina.
The star has hired Tacopina - who recently represented A$AP Rocky - to help secure her freedom from her three-year conservatorship.
A #FreeWendy movement has since begun and in early April, Williams was seen banging on her window from inside the facility as supporters rallied for her below on the street.
In March, it was revealed that Wendy was obtaining a new legal team in a bold move to break free from the guardianship.
Ginalisa Monterroso, the CEO and founder of Connect Care Advisory Group, also informed to Page Six the importance of Williams obtaining a new legal team in order to get out of the conservatorship.
'She's just stuck in what she calls a luxury prison...There's been no plan put in place for her, no paperwork, no hearings. There was no strategy or help lined up for her at all.'
Attorneys for Morrissey had sent a letter to DailyMail.com and stated that the drama surrounding the guardianship is 'untrue, inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading.'
Her attorneys further said in the letter that 'contrary to many media reports, Morrissey, as guardian, did not declare Wendy Williams to be legally incapacitated' - since a guardian does not have the power to do so.
Wendy also called into Good Day New York to explain that she passed a psychiatric evaluation with 'flying colors.'
She later gave details about the living facility she is staying at and said, 'And you know, I'm on the fifth floor. It's called the memory unit. This is a floor, you know, you don't remember anything. Like really?
'And as far as me being able to go outside, I'm not allowed. You know, I have to stay in this building,' she continued, and added she needs to be 'permitted' in order to go to the gym that is located on the third floor.'
Wendy then emotionally stated that her money is 'up in the air' before saying, 'This is my life.'
Towards the end of the interview, she shared that leaving her guardianship is 'the number one most important thing.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Has Iran actually tried to kill Trump? Here's what we know
Days after it was reported that Donald Trump rejected Israel's plot to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the president publicly announced that the United States knows his location and is holding off killing him 'for now.' Israeli officials, meanwhile, have openly demanded his death. This week, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Khamenei 'can no longer be allowed to exist.' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, turning to Fox News over the weekend to make the case for the United States to join a war with Iran, said Khamenei sees the president as 'public enemy number one.' Israel has sought to justify intervention using allegations of Trump's assassination threats as leverage, while the United States has faced years of blowback in the wake of Middle East wars and the 2020 killing of a top Iranian general. During his first administration in 2020, Trump ordered a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the elite Quds Force with Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, after he had survived several assassination attempts from western, Israeli and Arab states over the past two decades. The strike, which was planned over several months, ignited fierce blowback across the region, denounced by Iran's foreign minister at the time as an act of international terrorism. By 2024, U.S. intelligence officials had collected evidence they believe shows Tehran was seeking ways to kill then-candidate Trump, according to Politico. In September, Trump claimed there were 'big threats on my life by Iran.' Neither of the two assassination attempts against then-candidate Trump in the summer of 2024 have been linked to Iran. One month earlier, a Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran was accused of seeking to carry out a murder-for-hire plot targeting U.S. government officials, according to federal prosecutors. Asif Raza Merchant was accused of joining a complex plot to carry out assassinations last year, including trying to hire hit men who were undercover officers, according to an indictment. In November, a fugitive Iranian government operative was accused of hiring a pair of New Yorkers he met in prison to carry out an assassination plot against a critic of the regime. He allegedly admitted to FBI agents that he'd also been tasked with finding a hit squad to kill then-President-elect Trump. Farhad Shakeri claimed he was asked by regime officials to 'put aside his other efforts... and focus on surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating' Trump, according to a criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court. In February, Trump, who campaigned against U.S. involvement in foreign wars, said Iran would be 'obliterated' if he was assassinated by state actors. 'That would be a terrible thing for them to do,' he told reporters. 'Not because of me. If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I've left instructions: if they do it, they get obliterated. There won't be anything left.' Iran has denied ever targeting the president. 'A new scenario is fabricated,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X following accusations against Shakeri. 'The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the president of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect,' Araghchi wrote. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the allegations were part of a 'repulsive' plot by Israel to 'complicate matters between America and Iran.' In January, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed that Iran 'never attempted' to kill Trump, 'and we never will.' 'This is another one of those schemes that Israel and other countries are designing to promote Iranophobia,' Pezeshkian told NBC News. 'Iran has never attempted to, nor does it plan to assassinate anyone. At least as far as I know.' Asked whether there have been any plots against the president under Iran, he insisted there have been 'none whatsoever.' On June 15, Netanyahu asked Fox News host Bret Baier whether 'these people who chant 'death to America'' and 'tried to assassinate President Trump twice' should 'have nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to your cities.' Baier then pressed Netanyahu about his claim that Iran launched two assassination attempts. 'Through proxies, yes.' he said. 'Through, through their intel, yes, they want to kill him,' he added. 'He's enemy number one.' Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has emerged as a prominent voice across right-wing media against the United States joining Israel's war, told Texas Senator Ted Cruz that the United States would be bombing Tehran if those assassination allegations were credible. 'We should attack Iran immediately if that's true,' he said. Cruz insisted that 'nobody disputes' Iran is trying to kill the president, calling it an 'objective fact' following his interview with Carlson. On Thursday, Trump said he plans to decide on whether to order U.S. warplanes to strike Iranian nuclear facilities within the next two weeks, depending on whether Tehran engages in talks over ending their nuclear weapons program. In a statement relayed through White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Trump said: 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.' The president's statement followed a week of escalating strikes between Israel and Iran. More than 600 Iranians and at least two dozen Iranians have been killed, according to officials.


Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE John Fetterman slams 'twisted martyr' Luigi Mangione after he brags about his $1M legal fund
Outspoken Senator John Fetterman has blasted accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione and his legion of supporters who have now handed their 'folk hero assassin' an astonishing $1million for his defense. Mangione revealed the staggering amount in a self-reflective list of 27 things he's 'grateful for' to mark his birthday of the same number inside the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. Fetterman, a long-standing critic of the Mangione support cult, told exclusively in a reaction to the figure: 'Spoiler… to those who exalt, donate and defend their twist martyr, that cowardly a**hole will die in prison.' Mangione was arrested in Fetterman's home state Pennsylvania after five days on the run following the shooting death of healthcare boss Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street. The senator is one of many who believe Mangione's list was widely circulated to his army of devotees – who view him as a romanticized folk hero for his alleged slaying of the UnitedHealthcare CEO on December 4, 2024 – as a way to garner sympathy as the legal clock ticks. Millionaire Mangione references his large bounty in item 13 on his list of the '27 things I am grateful for'. It reads: 'The some 30,000 individuals around the globe who have come together to donate over $1,000,000 to my legal fund, enabling me to retain a world class defense team across three concurrent prosecutions.' Mangione allegedly shot Thompson in the back on a Manhattan sidewalk as he arrived for an investors meeting. The now 27-year-old was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after an anonymous 911 call describing a 'suspicious man' resembling the suspect. According to a manifesto on him when seized, he was critical of the state of healthcare in the United States. The alleged killer, who was born into a wealthy and prominent family in Baltimore, Maryland, painted a rough canvas of his daily 'birdcage' incarceration in the 27-point list which also appears to revel in his 'celebrity' status. He mailed it out from the jail on June 6. Mangione, who is pleading not guilty to federal and state murder charges, gushes surprising praise toward staff at the jail, currently also housing rap mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs during his sex-trafficking trial. He also gets political, dubbing America as 'sick' and praising both conservatives and liberals alike while calling free speech 'the basis of our way of life'. Mangione additionally reveals his supporters are deluging him with their own stories of everyday travails and adversity in an effort to boost him as he awaits a December 5 hearing to set his federal trial date. It appears money for goodies inside is not a problem, with him revealing he's being bombarded with top-ups for his commissary account to buy essentials and treats – and disclosing what he likes to eat. But Mangione's first thoughts are reserved for those closest to him. Leading his list of gratitude is a heartfelt nod to his inner circle: 'My friends, for being there when I needed it most,' he writes in thought number one. He is grateful for his family, yet curtly, and confusingly, considering his appeals for sympathy – informing his followers 'my personal life is none of your business!' And he praises 'the many talented and generous individuals who – if not for my current predicament – I would never have crossed paths with'. The accused assassin, who has a cushy job in jail cleaning showers, claims he suffers Groundhog Day symptoms as a result of others' kindness. Reasons to be grateful number four says: 'Letters. I spend each day between the same four walls of my unit, where I receive both holiday cards sent in December and birthday cards sent between March and May, creating a bizarre and disorienting Groundhog Day scenario where every day is both Christmas and my May 6th birthday. 'Nonetheless, I am incredibly grateful. The monotony of my physical environment is offset by the variety and richness of the lives I experience through letters: multi-page life stories, retellings of workplace conversations, stream of consciousness journal entries. 'Admissions of greatest fears, eager recaps of recent triumphs, mothers reliving senseless tragedies. Soulful creations, generous offers, advice.' Aside from his defense fund, he is also receiving money to make life easier inside the federal lock-up. Item 17 reads: 'Everyone who has donated to my commissary account, whose contributions have funded a tablet, songs, stamps, hygiene items, bbq sauce, Goya sazon, peanut butter and lot of tuna packets.' His tastes inside also extend to 'Chicken Thursdays and Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce'. Aside from food, the University of Pennsylvania alumni admitted he cannot wade through all the 'countless books I've been sent' but he's 'distributed these books to my grateful inmates'. 'While I've never read the vast majority of them, I've loved facilitating this collective practice in tsundoko', he continues, referring to a Japanese word meaning acquiring books but letting them pile up without reading them. Reason number 17 was a direct shout out to his fans whose donations to his prison commissary account allowed him to purchase Barbeque sauce, Sazon seasoning packets and even a tablet He also gives a fascinating insight into his own taste in literature. In a nod to the shadow of the charges facing him, he gives a thumbs up to two dystopian works involving rebellion against the system. 'My favorites include Ayn Rand's Anthem, Patrick Bet-David's Your Next Five Moves and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451,' he writes. Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella published in 1938 with the plot taking place at an unspecified future date when mankind is entering an age where individuality is eliminated. In it, a young man known as Equality 7-2521 rebels by doing secret scientific research. Fahrenheit 451 is another dark work, this time depicting an America where books are outlawed. It follows a man who rebels against his role as a fireman who burns books, quits his job and commits to preserving literature. Meanwhile, Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy is a complete shift of gears, charting strategies for life and business – stating that the first move is understanding your own strengths and weaknesses. Mangione is grateful for 'being born in America', yet he adds: 'She is haunted by her past, she is sick, she is plagued by inner turmoil – such is her nature as a nation of individuals. 'She is young, in midst of an adolescent identity crisis. But despite her flaws, her frame is robust and her potential unmatched.' Mangione's gratitude further includes 'free speech, the basis of our way of life'. He adds: 'When you tear out a man's tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you're only telling the world that you fear what he might say' – George.' The quote is from A Clash of Kings, a fantasy novel by George RR Martin. Politically, Mangione strikes a seemingly even-handed tone. In items 23 and 24, he writes: 'The conservatives, who fiercely conserve the aspects of our society that make us great.' 'The liberals, who liberate us from the outdated aspects of our society that prevent us from being greater.' Meanwhile, he heaps praise on one man who has been helping him negotiate jail life. 'My cellmate J, who – despite spending half of every day inside a shared birdcage and being sentenced to a decade away from his six kids who he loved – tolerates the clutter of all my papers, shares his unique wisdom and doesn't hesitate to humble me when I need it.' Of the jail itself, he writes in thought number 10: 'The MDC staff and CO's (corrections officers), who are nothing like what The Shawshank Redemption or The Stanford Prison Experiment had me to believe. 'While the occasional minor dissent arises, I've found that they are people too and largely there to help.' Mangione's job cleaning showers was revealed by short-term cellmate Michael Daddea, who spent two weeks at MDC. In a now deleted video on X, he said he found Mangione welcoming, saying: 'Luigi is standing there and he's like, 'Hey, how's it going?' Like, super nice. Introduced himself to me first thing,' he said. Daddea, accused of 3D-printing at least 25 untraceable 'ghost guns' similar to the weapon allegedly used to kill Thompson, added Mangione was a 'collie'. 'So, a collie could be like a unit boss that tells you what cell you're going to. Luigi just happened to be a collie that cleans the showers,' he said. Daddea was arrested at his parents' house at Weeki Wachee, about 60 miles north of Tampa, Florida, and transferred to New York before being released on $250,000 bail. He was reluctant to talk further about Mangione when spoke with him at the single-family rural home. He said his attorney had advised him to take down the X posting about the alleged killer – and he told us he was fighting the accusations against him.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
How tragic Anne Burrell ditched 'rock star chef life' to finally find love in her 50s before shock death
Beloved Food Network star Anne Burrell spoke candidly about finally settling down in her 50s—after years of 'living the rock star chef life'—just two months before she was found dead in her Brooklyn apartment. The Secrets of a Restaurant Chef host and longtime Worst Cooks in America co-host was discovered 'unconscious and unresponsive' around 7:50 a.m. Tuesday. The New York Fire Department confirmed to DailyMail they responded to a report of cardiac arrest, though her official cause of death is still under investigation by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner. In a bittersweet twist, Burrell had recently appeared on Tori Spelling 's misSPELLING podcast, where she reflected on meeting her husband Stuart Claxton later in life—after living what she called 'the rock star chef life.' She said she met Claxton on Bumble after finally giving dating apps a shot in her late 40s. 'From when I was a kid, I don't know why, but I always was like, I am not getting married until I feel like I have something in life to share — until I have accomplished stuff,' she shared. In a bittersweet twist, Burrell had recently appeared on Tori Spelling 's misSPELLING podcast, where she reflected on meeting her husband Stuart Claxton later in life—after living what she called 'the rock star chef life' In her 20s and 30s, Burrell sai dshe embraced the whirlwind of her culinary rise. 'I was living my best life! I was like, living the rock star chef life. I was working a lot, and I had a great social life,' she said. But over time, her priorities began to shift. 'I just started to feel like, all right, you're getting a little old to keep on doing this,' she added, reflecting on what led her to seek something more grounded. That turning point eventually led her to Claxton, whom she married on Oct. 16, 2021. With the marriage, she also stepped into a new role—becoming a stepmother to Claxton's 22-year-old son, Javier. 'Kids were never on my radar, really,' the chef admitted. 'I love being an aunt. I have nieces and nephews. So I'm like, [being a stepmom] is the perfect amount of parenting for me.' The resrufaced interview comes after Burrell's friend and chef Elizabeth Falkner claimed that Burrell was in 'pretty decent shape' when she last saw her on June 9 at dinner in New York City. In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail, Falkner, 59, revealed, 'I think Anne looks like she's in pretty decent shape these days, so it's kind of surprising to me.' Not being able to comment specifically on any health issues, if any, she might've battled before her death, she did find her passing 'so sudden and shocking.' 'I know it is very personal to me what happened, and I can't believe somebody even younger than me has just passed away. It's close to home for all of us,' she said. 'The culinary family is like family, so this hurts a lot of us. We just all feel it.' The shock comes from seeing her a few days ago at an intimate dinner she hosted - which she of course was the chef for the 'fun night' - at Soho House on June 9. 'I've seen [her] over all these years, not just on television competitions and shows, but at different parties and events and stuff, and we've always been friendly. 'But just in the last month we've been texting. I said, "Come to my dinner at Soho House, it'll be great to see you." And she brought her husband and we just had such a good time,' she shared about how the famous chefs reconnected. 'It was just so sweet. So this is just really so sudden and shocking.' Burrell even texted her the following day on June 10 to let her know that she and her husband, Stuart Claxton, had a great time. 'She's like, "Thanks so much for inviting us. It was a truly lovely time and very delicious. Please send me some pics so I can post." Falkner paid tribute to Anne on her Instagram after hearing about the shocking news 'And I said, "It was so great to see you, Anne."' The pals even made a pact to 'talk more often.' 'We were like, "Let's just make a point of talking and texting more often,"' Falkner shared, while noting that she is 'very grateful' to have had a special night with the beloved chef and other guests last week. 'I'm just bummed. I feel like [our friendship] just got cut really short fast,' she added. The Worst Cooks in America alum spoke highly about being a mother. 'When she came to the dinner at Soho House, she said that she was very much enjoying being a stepmother,' Falkner said, referring to the star's stepson Javier, 20. 'And her husband's so sweet. She just seemed to be in such a good place. That's the best way for me to describe it. Because being a chef and being a television personality is two major full-time jobs, but enjoying your life outside of that can be challenging. And I think she was definitely enjoying her life outside of that whole world of the networks and all that stuff.' Burrell spoke exclusively with Daily Mail back in April about marital bliss. Her and Stuart got married in 2021 after meeting on a dating app in 2018. 'October will be four years,' she said at the City Harvest gala. 'It seems like it's been four minutes. I don't know if it's a honeymoon [phase], but I feel like it's settled into married life days which I really enjoy.' Falkner told Daily Mail, 'I'm just bummed. I feel like [our friendship] just got cut really short fast' (pictured is an exclusive photo of Falkner with her pal at Burrell's former Brooklyn restaurant, Phil And Anne's Good Time Lounge, shared with Daily Mail) Falkner, who appeared on cooking shows like Iron Chef and Top Chef, recalled meeting Burrell's husband before they got married in 2021. 'I randomly saw her in Rome outside of a restaurant, and I was like, "Oh my God, that's Anne Burrell walking by!" And we said hey and stuff,' Falkner revealed, noting that she and Stuart were on a 'pre-wedding trip.' Describing her passing 'really unfortunate,' 'so sad,' 'unexpected' and even 'tragic,' Falkner believes Burrell's death is a huge loss to the restaurant community since everyone involved is 'another kind of family.' Falkner, herself, said that being a chef is a 'highly stressful job,' but it was something that Burrell mastered throughout her career. 'The thing about Anne Burrell is she wasn't only a TV chef, she was a really good, really good cook, really good chef. She educated a lot of people,' the James Beard Foundation's board of trustees member told Daily Mail. 'I don't even know how she had the patience to do Worst Cooks in America, because I think that would be a challenging show to do patience wise. But she was the real deal. She could cook a lot. She had mad skills. It was always fun watching her cook. I told her I loved watching her on House of Knives.' She added, 'She's one of those people that's kind of intimidating and certainly hardcore as chefs can be. I mean, you kind of have to be that way. It's the only way to teach people how to deal with ingredients and not to mess it up all the time. But she was definitely very sweet... She had a certain kind of sparkle.'