Wendy Williams has been under a court-appointed guardianship in New York since May 2022, when a judge found her legally incapacitated and placed her finances and personal care in the hands of professional guardian Sabrina Morrissey. The arrangement, triggered by a petition from Wells Fargo rather than by her family, remains in force as of late 2025 despite Williams’ public demands to end it, a dismissed $250 million lawsuit by her ex-husband, and sharply conflicting accounts of her current cognitive health.
How the Guardianship Started
In February 2022, Wells Fargo froze Williams’ accounts and petitioned a New York court, alleging she was an “incapacitated person” and a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”1NPR. Wendy Williams Guardianship New York Documentary By May 2022, a judge had granted the petition and appointed Sabrina Morrissey, a professional guardian with no familial tie to Williams, to oversee both her finances and her health.2PEOPLE. Wendy Williams Medical Exam Complete Dementia Diagnosis Upholds Her Guardianship
The case proceeded under New York’s Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law, which allows a court to appoint a guardian when a person is found unable to manage personal needs or financial affairs and is likely to suffer harm as a result. The statute requires “clear and convincing evidence” of incapacity and is meant to be the “least restrictive alternative,” granting a guardian only the powers strictly necessary.3Broome County NY. Guide to NY Article 81 Guardianships The court records in Williams’ case remain sealed, which has sharply limited public visibility into the specific findings that supported the appointment.1NPR. Wendy Williams Guardianship New York Documentary
Before the guardianship was formalized, Williams’ then-attorney LaShawn Thomas alleged that Wells Fargo financial advisor Lori Schiller and former business manager Bernie Young had blocked Williams from checking her own account balances, saying they “left Wendy to die” by cutting off her financial access.4InvestmentNews. Accusations Intensify in Wendy Williams Fight With Wells Fargo
The Medical Diagnoses Behind the Case
After what her care team described as a “battery of medical tests,” Williams was diagnosed in 2023 with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, degenerative brain conditions that affect personality, behavior, speech, and information processing. Her medical team publicly disclosed the diagnoses on February 22, 2024, saying they wanted to “correct inaccurate and hurtful rumors.”5NPR. Wendy Williams Aphasia Frontotemporal Dementia Diagnosis Since April 2023, Williams has lived in a medical or assisted living facility to treat cognitive issues.6Prevention. Wendy Williams Health Update Frontotemporal Dementia Aphasia Diagnosis
Where Williams Lives Now
Williams has been housed in the memory care unit of an assisted living facility in New York City. She has described her living space as a bedroom, a bathroom, and a window, calling it “very suffocating” and “very lonely.” She says she is kept on a locked floor among residents in their 70s, 80s, and 90s who require help with basic tasks, and that in one 30-day stretch she was allowed outside only twice.7PEOPLE. Wendy Williams Opens Up Suffocating 18K Per Month Memory Unit Needs to Get Out She has called the facility a “prison.”8New York Post. Inside Wendy Williams 52K Per Month Assisted Living Facility
Reported costs for the facility range from $18,000 per month, the figure Williams herself cited, up to $52,000 per month once memory care services are included. A facility employee told the New York Post that Williams was moved to the memory care unit after an alleged incident involving intoxication at lunch, after which her elevator access was restricted.8New York Post. Inside Wendy Williams 52K Per Month Assisted Living Facility
Williams’ Public Fight To End It
In early 2025, Williams launched a public campaign against her own guardianship. On March 11, she called into Good Day New York from a hospital where she said she was undergoing an independent cognitive evaluation because she did not trust the court-mandated process. She claimed she passed “with flying colors,” and her friend Gina Monterrosa, who joined the call, said Williams had been “deemed not incapacitated” based on the hospital’s results.9Fox 5 NY. Wendy Williams Calls Good Day
Three days later, on March 14, 2025, Williams called into The View. “How dare they say I have incapacitation? I do not,” she told the audience, directing her guardian and the presiding judge to “get off my neck,” demanding a new guardian, and describing a locked memory unit where she needed staff permission to leave.10Variety. Wendy Williams The View Incapacitated End Guardianship She said her phone had been taken away and her contact with family restricted.11NBC News. Wendy Williams Takes Aim at Guardianship View Interview Co-host Joy Behar told her, “You sound really good to us.” A statement from Morrissey’s lawyer, read on air by co-host Sunny Hostin, maintained that the guardianship was established by a judge following a medical diagnosis, that Williams was “receiving excellent medical care,” and that she had not been kept from her family.12The Hollywood Reporter. Wendy Williams Tells Guardian to Get Off My Neck on The View
On December 8, 2025, Williams’ attorney Joe Tacopina appeared on ABC’s Nightline and said guardianship attorneys had “assured Wendy by year’s end she’ll be out of guardianship.” He also raised the possibility of a jury trial to secure her release.13TMZ. Wendy Williams Joe Tacopina Guardianship Maybe Ending As of the available reporting, no confirmation exists that the guardianship was terminated by the end of 2025.
The Dueling Medical Evaluations
The central legal question, whether Williams remains incapacitated, has produced sharply conflicting accounts. In August 2025, an evaluation that included neuropsychological testing and brain imaging was completed. According to PEOPLE, the results reaffirmed the 2023 diagnoses of frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, and were used to uphold the guardianship.2PEOPLE. Wendy Williams Medical Exam Complete Dementia Diagnosis Upholds Her Guardianship
Tacopina has rejected those results. He alleged that a leaked medical report confirming the dementia diagnosis was orchestrated by Morrissey for “manipulation” to maintain the guardianship, claimed no such testing had actually taken place, and called the report a “lie.” Williams, he said, is “doing great” and has “less rights than a convicted felon under probation.”14NewsNation. Wendy Williams Medical Report Leak Sabrina Morrissey A December 2025 report from TheGrio stated that a “subsequent neurological evaluation” had determined Williams did not have dementia, a claim that conflicts with the August 2025 evaluation reported by PEOPLE.15TheGrio. Wendy Williams Conservatorship Update The court is reviewing whether Williams continues to require a guardian and whether Morrissey will remain in that role.2PEOPLE. Wendy Williams Medical Exam Complete Dementia Diagnosis Upholds Her Guardianship
Kevin Hunter’s $250 Million Lawsuit
In June 2025, Williams’ ex-husband Kevin Hunter filed a $250 million lawsuit in New York naming Morrissey, Wells Fargo, financial advisor Lori Schiller, and former manager Bernie Young. The complaint alleged that Williams was being “abused, neglected, and defrauded” and that the guardianship had become “a weapon, not a shield.” Hunter sought the appointment of a “new impartial guardian,” the unsealing of Williams’ case files, a full forensic accounting, and a release from what he called “involuntary confinement.”2PEOPLE. Wendy Williams Medical Exam Complete Dementia Diagnosis Upholds Her Guardianship The suit alleged Williams had lost access to an $80 million estate, a $4 million condominium, personal goods exceeding $10 million, and roughly $20 million per year in earnings.16Fox 59. Wendy Williams Ex-Husband File Lawsuit to End Her Guardianship
Williams publicly distanced herself from the suit. Tacopina said Hunter had “no standing to add her name” and “no authority from Wendy whatsoever,” and Williams herself called it a “cash grab.”17TMZ. Wendy Williams Husband Claims Thrown Out On October 9, 2025, Judge Margaret M. Garnett of the New York District Court dismissed the case, ruling that Hunter lacked standing to act as Williams’ “next friend” or to file on her behalf. All claims were rejected as filed, though the judge gave Hunter leave to refile solely on his own behalf by November 10, 2025.18TheGrio. Kevin Hunter’s Bid to Take Over Ex-Wife Wendy Williams Guardianship Thrown Out by Judge
The Guardian’s Lawsuit Over the Lifetime Documentary
Morrissey’s most prominent legal action as guardian has been a suit over the two-part Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, which aired February 24 and 25, 2024. Both Williams and her son Kevin Hunter Jr. were credited as executive producers.19The Hollywood Reporter. Wendy Williams Doc Unsealed Lawsuit Against A&E Networks Claims Exploitation
Morrissey obtained a temporary restraining order on February 22, 2024, but it lasted less than a day. On February 23, Appellate Justice Peter H. Moulton lifted it, ruling that blocking the broadcast would be an “impermissible prior restraint on speech that violates the First Amendment.”20Los Angeles Times. Wendy Williams Guardian Sues Lifetime A&E Networks Documentary An amended complaint filed September 16, 2024, named A+E Networks, production company eOne, Creature Films, and producer Mark Ford, alleging the defendants knowingly exploited a “vulnerable” person who was “incapable of consenting” due to her dementia, that her signature on the talent agreement “does not appear to be genuine,” and that she received only $82,000 while the defendants earned millions. The complaint demanded that all profits be awarded to Williams for her medical care.21Rolling Stone. Wendy Williams Doc Lawsuit Guardian Amended Complaint Civil rights attorney Roberta Kaplan of Kaplan Martin LLP joined the legal team.22Deadline. Wendy Williams Guardian Lifetime Lawsuit
A&E countersued in November 2024, calling the documentary protected speech on a matter of public concern and accusing Morrissey of suing to “silence criticism of her controversial and failed administration” of the guardianship. The network also claimed Morrissey had been aware of the talent agreement as early as March 2023 and continued to approve Williams’ participation until April 2023.23Page Six. Wendy Williams Guardian Countersued by A&E in Documentary Dispute
Family Access Disputes
Williams’ sister, Wanda Williams, told reporters that the court-appointed guardian was the only person with “unrestricted access” to Williams, saying: “The people who love her cannot see her.”6Prevention. Wendy Williams Health Update Frontotemporal Dementia Aphasia Diagnosis Kevin Hunter Jr. said in the Lifetime documentary that the guardianship had not been “sufficient” in protecting his mother and called for the family to become her designated guardians.24Yahoo Entertainment. Wendy Williams Son Kevin Hunter A&E’s countersuit echoed these claims, alleging the guardianship had “isolated her from her family, left her largely alone and unattended in her apartment,” and failed to prevent her struggle with alcohol abuse.23Page Six. Wendy Williams Guardian Countersued by A&E in Documentary Dispute Morrissey has maintained that guardianships are often “misunderstood” and that her decisions are guided by medical recommendations and judicial oversight rather than personal discretion.25Vanity Fair. Wendy Williams Age of the Celebrity Conservatorship
Legislative Fallout: Karilyn’s Law
The case has shaped New York guardianship policy. In January 2025, State Senator Anthony Palumbo cited Williams’ case as a “high profile guardianship abuse case” while pushing Karilyn’s Law, a bill designed to protect visitation rights for family and friends of people under guardianship. The bill would prevent guardians from arbitrarily terminating visitation and would guarantee an evidentiary hearing within 10 days for anyone denied contact. As of June 2026, the bill had cleared both chambers of the New York State Legislature.26New York State Senate. Senator Palumbo and Families Push Guardianship Reform
Zoe Brennan-Krohn of the ACLU’s Disability Rights Program has argued that guardianship should be a “last resort” and questioned whether less restrictive alternatives were explored in Williams’ case. Healthcare attorney Harry Nelson pointed to a structural risk: “There’s an aspect of self-preservation and guardians inherently become conservators of their own.”25Vanity Fair. Wendy Williams Age of the Celebrity Conservatorship