A two-part documentary about Wendy Williams was released over the weekend, and the footage is shocking.
Shortly before the premiere, it was revealed that Williams had been diagnosed with “primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD)” and that producers knew she suffered from the disease. He admits that if he had, he would never have made this documentary.
Producer Mark Ford, executive producer Erica Hanson, and Lifetime executive Bree Miranda Bryant spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the difficult experience filming Williams, who was clearly struggling. .
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Wendy Williams attends Daniel’s Leather Fashion Show Featuring Dame Dash held at Harbor in New York City on February 15, 2023. (Johnny Nunez/Wire Image)
In a discussion of whether the documentary is exploitative, Ford said, “It’s important to understand the trajectory of the filmmakers and how upsetting it is to all of us in certain scenes, and how outrageous it is in certain scenes.” “It was edited in a certain way because we wanted people to understand what happened.” The circumstances were different. For example, Wendy was left alone without food and completely alone in an apartment with stairs where she could easily fall. There was no one there 24/7. So these are all the questions we asked. I had it for a long time. ”
He added: “But, of course, if anyone had known that Wendy was developing dementia, they wouldn’t have rolled the cameras.”
Bryant explained: “The diagnosis that was announced was not information that any of us knew, so people were watching this journey with information that we didn’t have in the first two hours. And I think that’s part of the problem.” Confused and upset and angry. ”
It was revealed last week that Wendy Williams was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. (Michael Tran/Film Magic)
Ford also told the show, “If we couldn’t move toward a hopeful ending, or an ending that involved the family and told the story, this project would never have aired.”I speak for Bree.” I don’t want to,” he said. However, we would never have aired anything that did not have Wendy and her family’s best interests in mind. ”
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According to USA Today, last Thursday, just two days before the first part of the documentary aired, Williams’ temporary legal guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, filed a sealed lawsuit against A&E in New York County Supreme Court. That’s what it means. According to the paper, Morrissey has sued Lifetime for a temporary restraining order and to prevent the documentary from airing.
That effort was clearly a failure.
“There was a lot of drama at the end!” Bryant said. “All I can say is this surprised us all, but we’re relieved that the legal team was able to reach an agreement and we’re just grateful that we were able to air it.”
Wendy Williams is reportedly out of the public eye and under the care of a court-appointed guardian. (Getty Images)
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“At the end of the day, this is a First Amendment issue. No one should have the power to suppress the voices of Wendy and her family,” Ford said. “And thankfully, the courts have ruled that that is the most important thing. “We understand that this is the case, and freedom of the press has won here.”
All insisted Ms Williams was happy to be filmed, and while Ms Hanson admitted that “some days were better than others”, she added: “We always wanted to do what we did with Wendy. We talked about things, and she definitely had an opinion and respected it.” ”
She had several ideas for filming that were reflected in the documentary, including visiting Miami to meet family. Still, Ford said, “There were some incredibly bad days, and there’s a lot of footage that was shot that no one will ever see.”
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Wendy Williams’ documentary explores the rise and fall of a talk show host diagnosed with dementia. (Getty Images)
He later said, “We were always talking about what’s next. [the documentary] Whether or not this helps Wendy’s story and helps her move forward, it’s worth it. But at one point, the story also depicted the reality of this woman’s situation. And it’s not too realistic. It’s not a good thing to see. ”
Williams began his career as a shock jock on a New York City radio station and hosted the controversial talk show “The Wendy Williams Show.” She’s largely stayed out of the spotlight since the show was canceled in June 2022, but a new documentary attempts to capture Wendy’s return as she launched her podcasting career but ended up struggling with alcoholism and health issues. We get to see Wendy struggle with her problems.
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The crew stopped filming in April 2023, when Wendy was admitted to a facility to be treated for “cognitive issues” caused by alcohol abuse. Her family claimed in an interview with People magazine that they only have contact with Wendy through her court-appointed legal guardian.
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Hume and Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
