Wendy Williams’ guardian has been accused of ‘exceeding her authority’ in trying to get a documentary about the former chat show host changed and redacted in a new lawsuit filed by A&E Networks after it was revealed that she has been left ‘permanently incapacitated’ by her dementia battle.
The American multinational broadcasting company has filed a countersuit to 60-year-old Wendy’s guardian Sabrina Morrissey’s lawsuit attempt to get the documentary – named Where Is Wendy Williams? – they aired in February shut down according to TMZ on Wednesday.
A&E claims that Sabrina is exceeding her authority in trying to get parts of the documentary changed and redacted as Wendy had signed a talent agreement before she was ‘mentally incapacitated’ as was claimed by the guardian.
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Wendy and has yet to hear back.
The popular network also claims that there is no law against doing a documentary on a subject with dementia so, in effect, even if a talent agreement wasn’t signed nothing that they had done would be considered wrong.
The broadcasting company is suing Sabrina for attempting to infringe on A&E’s First Amendment rights as they give the example of Sabrina’s original suit filed in February in which she attempted to get a judge to stop the original documentary from releasing.
Wendy Williams’ guardian has been accused of ‘exceeding her authority’ in trying to get a documentary about the former chat show host changed and redacted in a new lawsuit filed by A&E Networks according to TMZ; the star is seen in Hollywood back in October 2019
A&E claims that Sabrina had forced their production company to defend itself against ‘meritless claims’ from the documentary.
TMZ also claims A&E says in the countersuit that Sabrina is trying to deny Wendy: ‘One of her last chances to exercise her autonomy and honestly reach her fans in exactly the frank and unfiltered manner that was the hallmark of her career
This comes as Sabrina had claimed Wendy has been left ‘permanently incapacitated’ by her dementia battle, her guardian has claimed in the latest legal wrangle over the star’s tell-all documentary.
Host Williams was diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in May 2023. The diagnosis came one year after Wendy was placed under a court-ordered legal guardianship that oversees both her finances and health.
Where Is Wendy Williams?, which aired in February, was set to explore Williams’ life as she prepared to launch a new podcast- but featured shocking scenes showing the former host drinking vodka in bed and having panic attacks – leading to fan backlash against Lifetime.
Her guardian Sabrina Morrissey is now locked in a legal battle with the network over the documentary.
In a filing obtained by The US Sun, Morrissey’s attorneys called Williams ‘an acclaimed entertainer who, tragically, has been afflicted by early-onset dementia and, as a result, has become cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated.’
‘In January 2022, after becoming aware of a pattern of disturbing events concerning [Wendy’s] welfare and finances, Wells Fargo took the highly unusual step of initiating a guardianship proceeding on its own initiative in the Supreme Court of New York, New York County (the ‘Guardianship Proceeding’), to seek the court appointment of an independent guardian for [Wendy’s] financial affairs.
Wendy has been left ‘permanently incapacitated’ by her dementia battle, her guardian previously claimed
The filing further asks for parts of the case about Williams’ ‘health, familial relationships, and finances” to be redacted to protect her privacy.
‘We respectfully request that the Court grant Plaintiff’s motion for limited redactions to protect non-public information from the Guardianship Proceeding that has been placed under seal by the court overseeing that proceeding.
New York lawyer Morrissey was assigned as her guardian after Wells Fargo froze her accounts in 2022, as a result of her financial adviser at the time claiming that she was of ‘unsound mind.’
In March, it was reported that Wendy was allegedly paid $100,000 per episode for her involvement in the four-part docuseries titled Where Is Wendy Williams?
At the same time, it was revealed that Wendy’s guardian had filed a lawsuit against the parent company of Lifetime, A&E Television Networks with allegations of ‘blatant exploitation’ in ‘disgusting’ fashion.
The guardian, Sabrina, filed the lawsuit under temporary seal (which keeps details in the case protected from the public) last month, but the docs were unsealed and reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, revealing explosive accusations in the case.
‘This blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman with a serious medical condition who is beloved by millions within and outside of the African American community is disgusting, and it cannot be allowed,’ the legal team for Williams’ guardian told the court.
Sabrina told the court that the talk show host ‘did not have the capacity to consent,’ according to THR, and producers did not get her consent, as her court-appointed guardian, to produce it.
Where Is Wendy Williams?, which aired in February, was set to explore Williams’ life as she prepared to launch a new podcast- but featured shocking scenes showing the former host drinking vodka in bed and having panic attacks – leading to fan backlash against Lifetime
In a filing obtained by The US Sun, guardian Sabrina Morrissey’s attorneys called Williams ‘an acclaimed entertainer who, tragically, has been afflicted by early-onset dementia and, as a result, has become cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated’
Williams was misled by producers into thinking that the documentary would be a ‘positive and beneficial’ project for her public image and reputation, the suit stated.
Williams’ publicist has also blasted the Lifetime documentary that she signed her famous TV client up for. Shawn Zanotti placed blame on the producers of the series, alleging the TV icon believed she was filming a program about her comeback – only for filmmakers to capture ‘a circus to her downfall.’
Zanotti, who has been working as a publicist for Williams since 2021, spoke with NBC News about her grievances with the making of Where is Wendy Williams?, a four-part documentary now airing on Lifetime.
In an interview with the outlet, Zanotti claimed: ‘I felt that [Williams] was being exploited.’
In August Williams was spotted in public for the first time in over a year at a herbal supplement shop in Newark, New Jersey
‘She thought we were focusing on the comeback of her career. … She would be mortified. There’s no way you can convince me that she would be OK with looking and seeing herself in that way.’
She also told PEOPLE that she felt ‘lied to’ about it.
Despite having encouraged her client to sign up for the show, Zanotti now says: “I would never let Wendy put her name and brand on the line like that ever. She’s an icon. It’s not the story we signed up for and I feel lied to.’
Adding: ‘It’s so difficult for me to even watch. Wendy would be mortified.’
