Wendy Williams was not amused with the finale of her eponymous talk show.
via NYP:
“There was nothing I liked about the [the final episode of] ‘Wendy Williams Show,’” Williams, 57, told The Post.
Her eponymous show, which launched into national syndication in 2009 and amassed a series of Emmy wins, met an unceremonious end on June 17 at the hands of production company Debmar-Mercury.
The last episode was emceed by recurring guest host Sherri Shepherd, 55, who first stepped in for Williams in February as she grappled with health issues. Shepherd’s subbing led to some drama between the two women on social media. Now, she’s set to take over Williams’ coveted mid-morning time slot with a self-titled talk program of her own in the fall.
In late June, Williams revealed to TMZ that she’s lost about 95% of the feeling in her swollen feet owing to her battle with lymphedema — a condition caused by a blockage in the lymphatic system. She’s grappling with the chronic ailment while simultaneously contending with Graves’ disease, the immune system disorder that causes an overproduction of thyroid hormones.
Williams went public with her Graves’ diagnosis in 2018, after fainting on-air during an October 2017 live taping. (After regaining consciousness, the veteran broadcaster returned to the set and closed the show.)
But when asked by The Post why she failed to make a swan song appearance during the mid-June finale, the cheeky hostess said: “[Debmar-Mercury] didn’t ask me to do that, so I didn’t. I sat in my apartment and I watched it. And [I was] like, ‘Eek!’”
And Williams, without any ill will toward the producers, believes that her exclusion from the show’s closing was a production misstep.
“Debmar-Mercury, in my opinion, should have done it with [me], not these other people on ‘The Wendy Williams Show,’” said the Hollywood Walk of Famer, adding, “Except for Fat Joe.”
The Bronx musician, 51, served as a co-guest host several times with rapper Remy Ma during the daytime diva’s absence from the show in 2021. “I love him,” Williams gushed. “He’s my favorite.”
In the weeks since the “Wendy” stage went permanently dark, the show’s once-verified Instagram account, as well as its high-trafficking YouTube channel, have been deleted. Die-hard fans of the show balked at the seemingly unjust erasure, saying on Twitter, “The fact that they deleted the Wendy Williams YouTube Channel is insane but they also went after her Instagram too.”
While her celebrated simulcast and any traces of its glory are being scrubbed off the net, the gossipy glamour girl is hoping to premiere a podcast, titled the “The Wendy Experience,” in the near future.
“If you’re extremely famous like I am, [hosting a podcast] will make more money than being on ‘The Wendy Williams Show,’” a gleeful Williams told The Post.
If we were Wendy, we wouldn’t speak on the show anymore and just move forward with new endeavors.
