A new documentary called TRAPPED: What Is Happening to Wendy Williams?, dug deeper into Williams’ alcoholism, dementia diagnosis and guardianship.
Williams is currently on the memory floor of an assisted living facility in New York City, but investigative journalist Diane Dimond claimed she was only moved there after sneaking off to get drunk on her 60th birthday.
The former talk show host previously admitted that she had “celebrated” that year, but has since gotten sober.
A new documentary is delving into Wendy Williams’ alcoholism.
An hour-long special, calledTRAPPED: What Is Happening to Wendy Williams?, premiered on Monday, May 19, on the ID Channel, taking a deeper look into her life under a guardianship. The former talk show host, 60, currently resides in a secured floor of a New York City assisted living facility, but investigative journalist Diane Dimond claimed that wasn’t always the case.
“Wendy was on the third floor in this care unit, where she has access to the hallways, to the elevators,” Dimond alleged. “And on her birthday, she decided to get in the elevator and see where she could go. Well, it went all the way up to the rooftop bar, and it being her birthday, she ordered a drink, and then another one, and another. Who knows how many, but she will admit to you that she got drunk, she had a relapse.”
“Her treatment is to be sent to a much more restrictive ward,” she claimed. “And that was the fifth floor, the memory care unit, where she has a room with a bathroom and a television, and she is locked into that floor 24/7 unless the guardian gives her permission to go out once in a while.”
Representatives for Williams did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Williams, who was placed in a guardianship in 2022 and diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) the following year, has addressed these claims before. During a March interview on The View, she admitted that she “celebrated” in July 2024 when she turned 60, but insisted that she is now sober.
“[My] relationship [with substances] is fine and is wonderful,” she said. “I’ve had my devices and I have to tell you something: I am easily going on with my life, alcohol-free.”
Several doctors have weighed in on the possibility of Williams having alcohol-induced dementia, rather than FTD.
“Alcohol is one of the main causes of cognitive decline and dementia,” brain disorder specialist Daniel Amen said in TRAPPED. “In fact, I believe that alcoholic dementia is the second most common cause.”
Since Williams began speaking out about her conservatorship and health issues at the beginning of 2025, her guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, has requested that she receive “a new medical evaluation that will involve comprehensive neurological and psychological testing by a specialist in the field.”
“The issue of whether [Williams] has the capacity to assess what is in her own best interests deserves renewed careful consideration by qualified experts, and should not be left to careless speculation in tabloids, radio, or on the Internet,” the Feb. 5 filing stated.
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Wendy Williams
Then, in March, Williams was taken to the hospital following a welfare check requested by her health care advocate, Ginalisa Monterroso. When the pair later called into Good Day New York, Williams announced that she “passed” the exams at the hospital “with flying colors.”
Morrissey, however, told PEOPLE that Williams never scheduled her new medical evaluation.
“Medical testing, including an MRI brain scan and neuropsychological assessment, had been scheduled for Ms. Williams,” Morrissey told PEOPLE. “The Court directed that the testing be completed in March. Ms. Williams has declined to participate in the testing to date and therefore, the testing was not completed.”
In response, Williams told PEOPLE that she was not aware of the guardian’s claim that she had opted out of recent testing.
“I don’t know anything about that,” she said with a laugh, adding: “Bulls—. I am open to what I am open to and I can’t talk about it right now.”
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Trapped: What Is Happening to Wendy Williams? is available to stream on Max.
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