- Wendy Williams’ and her legal guardian are in an ongoing legal dispute over whether Williams’ dementia has left her “permanently incapacitated.”
- Williams was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and dementia in 2023.
- Experts say an early sign of primary progressive aphasia can be problems with speech.
- Following a healthy lifestyle can reduce your risk for dementia, but the condition is progressive, and there is no known cure.
Wendy Williams has denied claims made by her guardian Sabrina Morrissey about her health status and mental state.
During an appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” Williams, 60, said she did not have frontotemporal dementia and was not incapacitated, as Morrissey had previously stated.
After the episode aired on February 5, People reported that Morrissey filed a court order requesting a “new medical evaluation” as the dispute between the television personality and her guardian continued.
In November 2024, The U.S. Sun reported Williams had been left “permanently incapacitated” from the progression of dementia. The report was based on a court filing by attorneys on behalf of Morrissey, Williams’ legal guardian.
On February 22, 2024, it was announced via a press release that Williams had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the same form of dementia that actor Bruce Willis has.
The court filing is related to an ongoing legal battle between Williams’ guardian, Morrissey, and the makers of the documentary series, “Where Is Wendy Williams?”
Morrisey filed a lawsuit against A&E Television Networks, Lifetime Entertainment, and affiliates over claims the show “shamelessly exploits” Williams and “portrays her in an extremely demeaning and undignified manner.”
The docuseries highlighted Williams’ cognitive and emotional decline in the time leading up to her 2023 diagnosis of PPA and FTD. It also addressed that she has been living with lymphedema and Grave’s disease.
According to the National Institute on Aging,
FTD can create problems with memory, reasoning, and judgment. It can also cause changes in behavior.
However, early symptoms can be easily overlooked, delaying diagnosis and treatment.
Joel Salinas, MD, MBA, clinical assistant professor of neurology at NYU Langone Health and Chief Medical Officer at Isaac Health, said that FTD can present in various forms, including those that affect language.
“Early symptoms of FTD with aphasia can be subtle and often go unnoticed because they might mimic everyday issues,” he explained.
“For instance, individuals may begin to experience difficulty finding the right words during conversations, which could easily be mistaken for stress or fatigue,” said Salinas.
“There might also be changes in social behavior, such as diminished empathy, making inappropriate comments, or withdrawing from social interactions, which can be dismissed as mood swings or personal choices.”
Salina noted that people with FTD might experience lapses in their cleanliness or grooming, but these could be rationalized away as simply laziness.
“Some might start repeating words or engaging in compulsive behaviors (e.g., gambling), which may not immediately be recognized as symptoms of a neurological condition,” he added.
Other signs, according to Salinas, could be changes in dietary preferences. For example, a person might start overeating or develop a taste for sweets that wasn’t there before.
“Finally, the condition may also present with changes in motor function affecting movement,” he stated, “such as frequent falls or symptoms of weakness or rigidity that can sometimes resemble Parkinson’s disease.”
According to the Alzheimer’s Society, about 10–15 out of every 100 people with FTD have a faulty gene that causes the disease. If your parent has that gene, there is a 1 in 2 chance you will inherit it.
However, it causes the behavioral variant of FTD rather than Williams’s PPA variant, so it mainly affects the person’s behavior rather than speech.
Genetic testing can help you assess your risk for this form of FTD.
Gary Small, MD, a memory, brain, and aging expert at Hackensack Meridian Health, said that other factors affect one’s risk of developing dementia.
“Although genetics play a role, as with any dementia, potentially modifiable lifestyle behaviors can reduce risk and delay symptom onset, including regular physical exercise, healthy diet, stress management, not smoking, and mental stimulation,” he explained.
Once you have the condition, however, there is not much that can be done to reverse it, Small said.
“The disease has no cure, and as the illness progresses, patients lose their ability to remember and reason and develop movement problems, including balancing and swallowing,” he said.
“Patients also are at risk for depression and may develop inappropriate social behavior.”
Wendy Williams’ and her legal guardian are in a dispute over whether her dementia has left the talk show host “permanently incapacitated.”
Williams was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and dementia in 2023.
Early symptoms are subtle and can go unnoticed, but they may include speech difficulties, quick changes in mood, or social withdrawal.
Certain lifestyle behaviors can reduce your risk and delay the onset of symptoms. These include exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, managing stress, not smoking, and getting adequate mental stimulation. However, the condition is progressive and does not currently have a cure.