The Wendy Williams guardianship lawsuit landscape now spans three active fronts: a $250 million federal suit her ex-husband Kevin Hunter filed and a judge dismissed in October 2025, a defamation-adjacent case her court-appointed guardian brought against A&E over the Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, and Williams’ own push to dissolve the guardianship, which her attorney says could end by the close of 2025 after a neurologist concluded she does not have dementia.1theGrio. Wendy Williams Conservatorship Update2Yahoo Entertainment. Wendy Williams Dementia Diagnosis Disputed
The Guardianship Behind the Lawsuits
In early 2022, Wells Fargo froze Williams’ accounts and petitioned a New York court, describing her as an “incapacitated person” and a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”3NPR. Wendy Williams Guardianship New York Documentary By May 2022, a Manhattan judge placed her under a financial guardianship and appointed elder-law attorney Sabrina Morrissey to oversee her finances and welfare.4People. Wendy Williams Medical Exam Complete Dementia Diagnosis Upholds Her Guardianship
The court file is sealed, so the exact form of the guardianship has never been publicly confirmed. New York law provides for Article 81 guardianships, in which a judge grants a guardian power over the finances, property, or personal needs of someone deemed incapacitated.3NPR. Wendy Williams Guardianship New York Documentary5People. Wendy Williams Claims She Is Not Incapacitated Guardian Requests New Medical Evaluation4People. Wendy Williams Medical Exam Complete Dementia Diagnosis Upholds Her Guardianship That arrangement, and those diagnoses, are the target of every case that has followed.
Kevin Hunter’s $250 Million Federal Lawsuit
On June 17, 2025, Williams’ ex-husband Kevin Hunter filed a $250 million lawsuit in the Southern District of New York naming 48 defendants, including Morrissey, presiding judge Lisa Sokoloff, Wells Fargo, financial adviser Lori Schiller, court-appointed attorney Linda Redlisky, psychiatrist Dr. Rami Kaminski, former manager Bernie Young, and an unnamed assisted living facility.6People. Wendy Williams Ex-Husband Sues Guardian Judge7Complex. Wendy Williams Ex Husband Kevin Hunter 250 Million Lawsuit Guardianship
The complaint ran more than 100 pages. It alleged Williams was being “abused, neglected, and defrauded,” called the guardianship “civil death,” and accused the defendants of a “corrupt, criminal enterprise” involving overmedication, involuntary confinement at a senior living facility called Coterie, restricted phone access, and the unauthorized sale of her personal property.6People. Wendy Williams Ex-Husband Sues Guardian Judge8Fox 59. Wendy Williams Ex-Husband File Lawsuit To End Her Guardianship The legal theories included constitutional violations, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, professional malpractice, defamation, unlawful isolation, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.7Complex. Wendy Williams Ex Husband Kevin Hunter 250 Million Lawsuit Guardianship Hunter also sought to serve as Williams’ “next friend,” a legal designation allowing someone to act on behalf of a person who cannot represent themselves.9AOL. Wendy Williams Ex-Husband Sues
Williams disowned the suit within days. She told People she had “no idea” Hunter had filed it in her name and called him a “money-grubber.” Her attorney Joe Tacopina said Hunter had “no standing to add her name” and “no authority from Wendy whatsoever.”10People. Wendy Williams Says She Had No Idea Ex-Husband Filed Lawsuit in Her Name
On October 9, 2025, Judge Margaret M. Garnett dismissed the case, ruling that Hunter could not act as Williams’ “next friend” or legal representative in guardianship matters.11theGrio. Kevin Hunter’s Bid To Take Over Ex-Wife Wendy Williams Guardianship Thrown Out by Judge Garnett gave Hunter until November 10, 2025, to refile solely on his own behalf, without including Williams as a party.12Yahoo Entertainment. Wendy Williams Ex-Husband’s Lawsuit As of March 2026, the docket for the original case remained open, but no public records confirmed that an amended complaint had been filed.13CourtListener. Williams Hunter v. Morrissey, 1:25-cv-05107
The Guardian’s Lawsuit Against A&E Over the Lifetime Documentary
The Lifetime docuseries Where Is Wendy Williams? premiered in February 2024 and showed Williams during a period of decline. On February 23, 2024, Morrissey sued A&E Networks and Entertainment One Reality Productions in New York Supreme Court, alleging Williams lacked the mental capacity to consent to filming and that the companies “shamelessly exploited” her.14Rolling Stone. Wendy Williams Guardian Lawsuit Lifetime Doc Premiere The complaint said the docuseries was the product of “brutally calculated” exploitation and that Williams received only $82,000 for a project that generated millions.15Fox 2 Now. Wendy Williams Documentary Humiliated Her for Little Profit Complaint Alleges
The court denied Morrissey’s request to block the series, and it aired as scheduled.14Rolling Stone. Wendy Williams Guardian Lawsuit Lifetime Doc Premiere In November 2024, A&E and Lifetime countersued, arguing Morrissey was trying to silence criticism of her administration of the guardianship, and sought costs for defending their First Amendment rights.16Page Six. Wendy Williams Guardian Countersued by A&E in Documentary Dispute At a September 2025 hearing, attorneys for A&E confirmed the series had been taken down “out of respect for the legal proceedings.”17Yahoo Entertainment. Wendy Williams Ordered Testify Guardian
That same month, a judge ordered Williams to sit for a “de bene esse” deposition, testimony preserved for future use if her health or memory declines, by November 4, 2025. The court ruled that Williams’ dementia diagnosis did not make her legally unfit to testify, noting that the Federal Rules of Evidence do not require a specific level of mental ability for a witness.18People. Wendy Williams Will Be Deposed Documentary Case Despite Amid Dementia19TMZ. Wendy Williams Sit for Deposition Lifetime Documentary Case The deposition was limited to three hours, conducted remotely, with breaks for her medical condition. The broader A&E lawsuit was stayed while the guardianship proceedings were reviewed.
Williams’ Own Fight to End the Guardianship
Williams has publicly rejected the dementia diagnosis for years. After a March 2025 hospital visit, she told Good Day New York she had passed mental competency tests “with flying colors,” and her caretaker Ginalia Monterrosa said the same on the broadcast.4People. Wendy Williams Medical Exam Complete Dementia Diagnosis Upholds Her Guardianship A judge granted Morrissey’s request for a fresh comprehensive medical evaluation that same month.20ABC News. Wendy Williams Talks Guardianship Health Update
In August 2025, that evaluation was used by Morrissey’s legal team to argue for keeping the guardianship, on the ground that Williams again tested positive for aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, and the guardianship was upheld.2Yahoo Entertainment. Wendy Williams Dementia Diagnosis Disputed18People. Wendy Williams Will Be Deposed Documentary Case Despite Amid Dementia In late October 2025, a separate neurologist’s evaluation reached the opposite finding: Williams does not have dementia.1theGrio. Wendy Williams Conservatorship Update Tacopina said his team plans to use that finding to dissolve the guardianship, and is prepared to demand a jury trial if the presiding judge refuses.21NewsNation. Wendy Williams Diagnosis Guardianship
Only three lawyers, Allan Diamond, Peter Strauss, and Morrissey herself, are authorized by the court to initiate litigation on Williams’ behalf. Tacopina, brought in by Williams’ niece Alex Finnie, is not among them, which is one reason his effort runs alongside rather than inside the guardianship proceeding.22The Hollywood Reporter. What’s Happening Wendy Williams Guardianship
The Reform Bill Prompted by Her Case
Williams’ situation drew a legislative response. In January 2025, New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo introduced Karilyn’s Law, which would bar guardians from arbitrarily cutting off visitation and create a legal process for family members to apply for visits, with a mandatory court hearing within 10 days. Palumbo’s office cited “high profile guardianship abuse cases, including Wendy Williams speaking out about her forced conservatorship” as motivation.23New York State Senate. Senator Palumbo and Families Push Guardianship Reform As of June 2026, the bill had passed both chambers of the New York State Legislature and was awaiting action by Governor Kathy Hochul.24New York State Senate. Senator Palumbo Authored Guardianship Reform Bill Clears The bill would not automatically end Williams’ guardianship.
Where Things Stand
As of December 2025, Williams remained under the court-ordered guardianship. Tacopina said guardianship attorneys had “assured Wendy by year’s end she’ll be out of guardianship,” and reiterated he would pursue a jury trial if the presiding judge did not agree to end it.1theGrio. Wendy Williams Conservatorship Update25Cleveland.com. Beloved Talk Show Host Could Soon Be Released From Guardianship Attorney Says In June 2026, Williams was taken to a hospital for evaluation following a police welfare check, and the broader details of her guardianship remained sealed by court order.26The New York Times. Wendy Williams Guardianship