Wendy Williams has revealed she's been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. This news comes two days ahead of the release of what is promised to be a revealing Lifetime docuseries centered on the former talk show host. A press release sent out Thursday claiming to be on behalf of Williams and her care team said that she received her diagnosis in 2023 after undergoing a battery of medical tests.
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00:00 Wendy Williams has revealed she's been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia
00:04 and frontotemporal dementia. This news comes two days ahead of the release of what is promised
00:08 to be a revealing Lifetime docuseries centered on the former talk show host. A press release sent
00:13 out Thursday claiming to be on behalf of Williams and her care team said that she received her
00:17 diagnosis in 2023 after undergoing a battery of medical tests. Aphasia is a condition that
00:22 affects the ability to understand or express speech, while frontotemporal dementia, or FTD,
00:28 is a progressive disorder impacting behavior and cognitive functions. According to the statement
00:33 in the press release, aphasia and FTD have "already presented significant hurdles in Wendy's
00:37 life." The statement was sent out one day after a People magazine cover story revealed that Williams
00:42 is currently living inside a facility under the financial control of a court-appointed guardian,
00:46 as her family has been essentially shut out of her life. Her sister Wanda Williams and niece,
00:51 Alex Finney, shared that they cannot reach Williams directly. The Hollywood Reporter has
00:55 learned she is only reachable by her guardian, whose identity is not revealed in the upcoming
00:59 Lifetime doc. Following the press release about Williams' diagnosis, Lifetime told THR that
01:03 Williams' family had no comment and that they were not aware of the origins of the statement
01:07 or that it was being released on Thursday. On February 24, Lifetime is set to debut Where
01:12 Is Wendy Williams?, a two-night docuseries that began filming Williams following the June 2022
01:18 cancellation of her hit daytime talk show. They stopped filming her when she checked into the
01:22 facility in April 2023. Williams had been remarkably candid as she struggled with her
01:26 health and addiction over the years, but her condition in the final days of her talk show
01:30 and after remained a mystery. In the docuseries, her manager, Will Selby, says that she has
01:35 cognitive issues, while her son, Kevin Hunter Jr., says doctors told him she was suffering
01:39 from alcohol-induced dementia. The statement in the press release concluded by saying,
01:43 "Wendy is still able to do many things for herself, but most importantly she maintains
01:48 her trademark sense of humor and is receiving the care she requires to make sure she is protected
01:52 and that her needs are addressed. She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and
01:56 good wishes being sent her way." For much more on this story and the latest updates, go to THR.com.
02:02 This is The Hollywood Reporter News.