
Don Lemon Analyzes Wendy Williams’ Health After Their Podcast Discussion
Don Lemon has openly shared his insights regarding Wendy Williams’ health status following their recent conversation on his podcast. His reflections come at a crucial time as fans and followers remain concerned about her well-being and mental acuity.
On Thursday, Wendy Williams, aged 60, appeared on Charlamagne tha God’s The Breakfast Club, before engaging in a deeper conversation with Lemon, who has been a close friend for years, on his podcast, The Don Lemon Show.
During both interviews, the iconic television personality—who has been under a conservatorship since 2022 and diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia—vehemently criticized her guardianship, likening it to a “jail” as she asserted her belief that she is not “incapacitated.”
Following the discussion with Williams, Lemon provided his “evaluation” of the beloved talk show host. He remarked that while she may not resemble the vibrant person she once was “back in the day,” he does not believe she appeared incapacitated or that she suffers from dementia or aphasia. In Lemon’s view, Williams came across as “lucid” during their chat.
“This is my evaluation. Does Wendy sound like the Wendy Williams from back in the day when I was on her program? No, she does not,” he stated. “Does Wendy Williams sound like the Wendy Williams who visited me at my home and would call me at random times? No. Does Wendy Williams sound lucid to me? Yes. Does she sound like she has dementia? No. Does she appear to have aphasia or any of that stuff or that she is incapacitated? No.”
Lemon, who is 58, clarified that while he is “not a medical expert” or a “mental health professional,” he was still able to “carry on a conversation” with Williams, which he found significant.
“She can recall details from moments we spent together. She demonstrated that in the Charlamagne interview,” he noted, adding that he too is “not as sharp” as he was “back in the day,” suggesting that cognitive decline can happen to anyone.
“But do I think that she sounds incapacitated? No. I mean, can she manage her own finances? I believe there are ways you could interact with her to ensure that she is financially responsible and savvy. There needs to be a method to manage this situation to guarantee that she is taken care of financially for the rest of her life,” he elaborated.
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Lemon expressed uncertainty about whether Williams “needs to be in a facility,” raising questions about her living arrangements and independence.
“I don’t know what her issues are,” he admitted, “I’m not familiar with addiction issues, reportedly, allegedly. I am not privy to those matters. I just spoke to her this morning, and she sounds lucid,” he reiterated, emphasizing his observations.
Lemon also pointed out that he doesn’t understand why Williams “is not with her family,” before mentioning that her court-appointed guardian, Sabrina Morrisey, “has not spoken” publicly.
“Is the guardian protecting her from something that we don’t know? I don’t know. No one knows,” he added, highlighting the mysterious circumstances surrounding her guardianship.
Ultimately, Lemon expressed his belief that Williams’ family members should be present in her life, emphasizing the importance of familial support during challenging times.
“If you’re isolated and you are not around people that you love or who care about you, who have a personal affection for you, it messes with your head,” he said. “Everyone deserves to be with the people they love, and I believe they should be able to work that out or at least be close to one another in some way.”
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Wendy Williams Critiques Her Guardianship: Claims It Feels Like a Prison
Throughout her conversation with Lemon, Williams articulated her life under guardianship as “absurd” and reminiscent of a “prison,” expressing her frustration with the restrictions imposed upon her.
Currently residing in a wellness facility in New York City, Williams openly criticized her situation under the conservatorship, which includes her guardian, Sabrina Morrisey, raising concerns about her autonomy.
“My life is absurd,” she told Lemon. “I have been with this guardian person for three years. For three years, my life has felt like a prison. I can’t go out. All I can do is look out the window,” she lamented, emphasizing her feelings of confinement.
Williams mentioned her desire to celebrate her father’s 94th birthday, but noted that “anytime” she goes out, she is required to be accompanied by Morrisey, further underscoring her lack of freedom.
Regarding the wellness facility she currently resides in, she referred to it as an “old age home,” expressing her discomfort with the environment.
“The people who live here are in their 90s, 80s, and 70s; I don’t know, maybe they’re 60 like me, I can’t tell. Some individuals are in wheelchairs,” Williams stated. “Clearly, they are not of my sound mind and body,” she added, reflecting on her feelings of being out of place.
When Lemon directly asked Williams if she’s “incapacitated,” she firmly responded, “Hell f–king no!” expressing her strong disagreement with the notion.
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“You don’t believe you’re incapacitated, but the guardian claims you are completely incapacitated and that you have dementia,” Lemon explained, to which Williams replied, “I don’t know how much I can talk without being punished, and I won’t be able to see my dad, and I will be stuck in this jail for the rest of my life.”
“I’m not in a good place,” she added. “My life is messed up. You know, this guardian situation is—please, look, I’m isolated. I feel like I’m in prison. It feels like they are trying to control me and everything I do,” she expressed with frustration.
Williams—who claimed that she only has $15—also expressed her interest in returning to work, indicating her desire to regain some independence.
“I don’t want to work five days a week. I want to pick and choose what kind of work I want to do because that’s the type of person I am now,” she stated, reflecting her desire for autonomy in her career choices.
Following her appearances on The Don Lemon Show and The Breakfast Club, Williams’ attorney, Roberta Kaplan, issued a statement to PEOPLE. Kaplan addressed Williams’ diagnosis, noting that she “suffers from frontal lobe dementia, a degenerative brain disease that has no cure.”
“As a result, a state court found her to be legally incapacitated, meaning that she is not capable of making legal and financial decisions on her own,” Kaplan added. “Unfortunately, due to her diagnosis, Wendy’s condition will only worsen over time, and she will require care for the rest of her life.”
“However, as anyone who has had a family member with dementia knows, Wendy has both good days and bad days. It’s unfortunate that there’s so much voyeuristic attention to this right now, as it only leads to the same types of exploitation that we saw in the so-called documentary, as alleged in our complaint,” she added, referencing Williams’ lawsuit against A&E, Lifetime, and the producers of the docuseries, Where Is Wendy Williams?.
Meanwhile, Williams’ niece, Alex Finnie, who was present during her interviews with both Lemon and Charlamagne, expressed that she does not believe her aunt is cognitively impaired and encouraged followers to use the hashtag #FreeWendy to advocate for her freedom.