National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse: Wendy Williams’ Guardian Sues Lifetime Over Exploitative Documentary

The former talk show host’s guardian alleges that she was "viciously and shamelessly exploited" in the documentary.

By Oumou Fofana

Wendy Williams' guardian has taken legal action against several parties and entities involved in Lifetime’s controversial documentary “Where is Wendy Williams?” which dives into the talk show host’s life under guardianship.

According to PEOPLE, Sabrina Morrissey filed a complaint against A&E Television Network, Lifetime Entertainment Services, EOne Productions, Creature Films, and executive producer Mark Ford in the New York Supreme Court on Monday (Sept. 16), accusing them of exploiting the talk show star. Morrissey tried to stop the documentary from airing before it premiered on Feb. 24 and 25 but was unsuccessful.

“As is patently obvious from the very first few minutes of the Program itself, W.W.H. was highly vulnerable and clearly incapable of consenting to being filmed, much less humiliated and exploited," the 75-page complaint read. "When the Guardian discovered that Defendants’ true intentions were to portray W.W.H. in a highly demeaning and embarrassing manner, she immediately sought to protect and to preserve her dignity. But the defendants fought to move ahead... without a valid contract and released without the Guardian's consent."

The complaint argued that the network and defendants exploited Williams and should be held responsible for covering her medical care and supervision for the remainder of her life. "Not surprisingly, the public reacted with disgust and revulsion at Defendants’ blatant and vicious exploitation of W.W.H," it continued. "By willfully taking advantage of a severely impaired, incapacitated person, Defendants have made millions on W.W.H.’s back, while W.W.H. has received a paltry $82,000" from the documentary.

"This case arises from the brutally calculated, deliberate actions of powerful and cravenly opportunistic media companies working together with a producer to knowingly exploit W.W.H., an acclaimed African-American entertainer who, tragically, suffers from dementia and, as a result, has become cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and legally incapacitated," the complaint added. "Eager to sensationalize and profit from W.W.H.’s cognitive and physical decline, Defendants took advantage of W.W.H in the cruelest, most obscene way possible for their own financial gain, in a manner that truly shocks the conscience."

It additionally claimed that the "defendants not only deliberately destroyed" Williams' "credibility and image," but did so for their own financial gain. It added that the 60-year-old was the "laughingstock and drunkard implicitly responsible for her own continued suffering" and many photos of her in a wheelchair with her legs spread were circulated across the internet, along with footage showing her on camera with a nearly bald head — appearances she would have "never, ever consented or allowed."

Wendy has been under a court-ordered guardianship that manages her finances and health since May 2022. For the past 16 months, she has been residing in an undisclosed facility, receiving treatment for cognitive issues after being diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in May 2023.

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