The purple chair is empty. For over a decade, Wendy Williams was the unfiltered voice of daytime television, the queen of "Hot Topics" who lived for the tea. But now, she’s the one being talked about, and the story is much darker than any celebrity gossip she ever covered. People keep asking the same question: Why is Wendy Williams in a conservatorship? Honestly, the answer isn't a single event. It’s a messy, heartbreaking collision of failing health, a bank’s intervention, and a legal system that basically stripped her of her autonomy while the world watched.
The Wells Fargo Freeze: How it All Started
It didn't start with a doctor. It started with a bank. In early 2022, Wells Fargo did something almost unheard of: they froze Wendy’s accounts. They claimed she was an "incapacitated person" and a victim of "undue influence" and "financial exploitation."
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Imagine waking up and realizing you can’t pay your bills because your bank decided you weren't thinking straight. Wendy was furious. She went on Instagram, hair messy, looking exhausted, and told fans she wanted her money back. But the bank didn't budge. They filed a petition in a New York court to appoint a guardian, arguing that Wendy’s financial advisor, Lori Schiller, had raised red flags about her mental state.
There were whispers about her son, Kevin Hunter Jr., using her American Express card for huge purchases in Miami. While Kevin Jr. argued he was just taking care of his mom, the bank saw a vulnerable woman losing control of her millions. By May 2022, a judge appointed Sabrina Morrissey as an independent, third-party guardian.
The Diagnosis We Didn't See Coming
For a long time, we thought it was just Graves' disease or lymphedema. We saw her ankles swelling; we saw her eyes bulging. We knew she struggled with alcohol. But in early 2024, the truth got way more clinical and way more permanent.
Wendy’s care team revealed she has primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
This is the same stuff Bruce Willis is dealing with. It’s not just "forgetting keys." It’s a brain disorder that literally eats away at your ability to speak, understand language, and control your behavior. This is the core reason why the conservatorship (technically a "guardianship" in New York) has stayed in place. Even as Wendy appeared in the Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams? claiming she was "fine," the footage showed a woman who was often confused, emotional, and physically frail.
The legal system uses a "capacity" standard. If you can’t understand the consequences of your financial or medical decisions, the state steps in. With an FTD diagnosis, proving "capacity" is an uphill battle that almost no one wins.
A Family Shut Out
Why isn't her family in charge? That’s the million-dollar question. Usually, a son or a sister would be the first choice for a guardian. But the court chose an outsider, Sabrina Morrissey.
The court records are sealed—which is standard for these cases—but the drama has leaked out in bits and pieces. There were allegations that family members were spending Wendy’s money too freely. There were concerns about "undue influence" from people around her.
Her ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, has been extremely vocal. In 2025, he filed a massive $250 million lawsuit against the guardian and the bank. He calls the guardianship "civil death." He claims Wendy is being "abused and defrauded" in a "secret proceeding."
"Guardianship is a civil death," Hunter's lawsuit alleged. "She has been the victim of unrestrained abuse, maltreatment, and fiscal malfeasance."
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But there’s a twist. In October 2025, a judge shut down Kevin’s attempt to take over. And Wendy herself? She’s called him a "money-grubber" from her facility. It’s a toxic mess where nobody seems to agree on who actually has Wendy’s best interests at heart.
The "Free Wendy" Movement and the 2026 Reality
By now, the #FreeWendy movement has picked up steam, drawing parallels to Britney Spears. But this isn't exactly like Britney. Britney was a young woman being forced to work. Wendy is a 60-year-old woman with a documented, progressive brain disease.
In August 2025, new medical evaluations reportedly upheld the dementia diagnosis. Even though Wendy reportedly scored well on some "competency tests" earlier that year, the court-appointed doctors found that her neurological condition makes her "legally incapacitated."
She’s currently living in a high-end memory care facility in New York. She’s called it a "prison" and a "dump." She wants to go home. She wants to be back on TV. But the guardian controls who she sees, what she eats, and how her money is spent.
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Why This Case Actually Matters for Everyone
Wendy Williams is the face of a systemic problem. Whether you love her or hate her, her situation highlights how easy it is to lose your rights once a bank and a court get involved.
- Power of Attorney isn't a Shield: Wendy had legal documents in place, but the bank was able to bypass them by claiming she was already incapacitated when she signed or used them.
- Third-Party Guardians are Expensive: Every lawyer, every "visitor," and every guardian involved in this case is being paid out of Wendy’s estate. Her ex-husband claims she’s losing $20 million a year in potential earnings and fees.
- The "Civil Death" Factor: Once you are in a plenary guardianship, you can't get married, sign a contract, or sometimes even choose your own doctor without permission.
If you’re watching this play out and feeling uneasy, you should. It’s a reminder that "capacity" is a fragile legal label.
What You Should Do Now
Watching Wendy Williams’ struggle is a wake-up call for anyone with aging parents or anyone planning their own future. You don't want a "Sabrina Morrissey" (a stranger) making your choices.
- Update Your Documents: A basic Power of Attorney might not be enough. Talk to an estate lawyer about a "Pre-Need Guardian Declaration." It’s a document where you specifically name who you want (and who you don't want) to be your guardian if things go south.
- Set Up Living Trusts: Moving assets into a trust can sometimes prevent a bank from being able to freeze everything, as the trust has its own rules and successor trustees.
- Get a Second Opinion: If a bank or a doctor ever questions your capacity, get an independent neuropsychological evaluation immediately before a court gets involved.
Wendy Williams is still fighting. Her legal team is pushing for more transparency and a new, "impartial" guardian. Whether she ever gets her "freedom" back depends on the progression of her FTD and whether a judge believes she can safely navigate a world that, for now, seems to have closed in on her.