Wendy Williams Video Divides Internet Amid Dementia Diagnosis

Wendy Williams' diagnosis with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has become a viral talking point, after social media users discussed her behavior in new Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?

Williams' medical team announced on Thursday that the 59-year-old TV personality received her diagnosis last year after undergoing a "battery of medical tests."

Per Mayo Clinic, aphasia "robs you of the ability to communicate" and is known to affect "your ability to speak, write and understand language, both verbal and written." The condition "typically occurs suddenly after a stroke or a head injury. But it can also come on gradually from a slow-growing brain tumor or a disease that causes progressive, permanent damage (degenerative)."

FTD consists of incurable disorders that cause degeneration in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, leading to "an inevitable decline in functioning" for the patient, according to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD). There are currently no treatments that stop the progression of the disease.

Days after Williams' diagnosis was revealed, the two-part documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?—which was filmed between August 2022 and April 2023—debuted on Lifetime. The program was shot during a period that included the cancelation of Williams' talk show as health issues and alcoholism engulfed her life.

South African entertainment commentator Phil Mphela collated a series of clips from the show, in which Williams was seen snapping at a number of people. In one scene, she was shown telling her publicist: "I wish you would get liposuction."

Williams was also shown cursing at her publicist in different scenarios, calling her a "duma**" during one such interaction over clothing. Another showed her telling a staffer that he was "just a driver." She also asked a nail technician if she was "stupid" after changing her mind about the service she wanted.

"Dementia or not, this not how one should be treating people. Period," Mphela wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Being nasty to assistants is just horrible. Eish, Wendy Williams."

The post, which has been viewed more than 14 million times, sparked a discussion on the micro-blogging platform, with a number of X users agreeing with Mphela.

"Dementia or not, it is unacceptable to treat people this way. Period," echoed another similar post that has been viewed more than 370,000 times. "Being unkind to assistants is simply terrible."

"I know it's the dementia, but I could NEVER be her assistant," said another X user, whose post had received more than 3 million views as of press time.

The discussion prompted many X users to come to Williams' defense. Mphela's post was subsequently given a Community notes update. This community-driven feature allows contributors to leave comments on posts, such as fact-checking to help give context or opposing views.

Citing the Mayo Clinic as a source, the note stated that some people with FTD "have changes in their personalities. They become socially inappropriate and may be impulsive or emotionally indifferent."

A number of X users reiterated this, with one writing of Williams: "She has dementia. We often get angry at mental illness/decline [because] we think the person knows better. They don't. She's not being mean for sport. Her brain is literally deteriorating."

"That's Wendy Williams' mental illness that's making her scream and say terribly mean things," explained another. "This is what also happens with dementia patients."

Culture critic Kimberly Nicole Foster also weighed in on the discourse, sharing a post that read: "Dementia can absolutely cause personality changes and exacerbate paranoia and frustration that translates into being 'mean.' I don't like the impulse to vilify people who are already struggling for things they have little control over."

"Especially the type of dementia she has," another X user commented in response to Foster. "[Frontotemporal] dementia can present with personality changes, apathy, social inappropriate and impulsive behaviors, etc."

Newsweek has contacted Williams' publicist via email for comment.

While FTD shares some symptoms with Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia, there are some key differences. FTD tends to affect people at a younger age, with the onset of most cases occurring from ages 45 to 64.

"As the disease progresses, the person affected may experience increasing difficulty in planning or organizing activities," the AFTD website states. "They may behave inappropriately in social or work settings, and have trouble communicating with others, or relating to loved ones."

Some subtypes of FTD include aphasia, according to the Mayo Clinic. This can include worsening difficulties in understanding and expressing language. Behavior changes can include problems with judgment, interpersonal skills, a lack of inhibition and more unusual signs like "eating inedible objects."

Williams last hosted the now-defunct Wendy Williams Show in July 2021. She was forced to step back as she faced a variety of health issues. This followed breaks the TV host had to take from filming her show in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

In 2018, the host announced she had been diagnosed with Graves' disease, an autoimmune condition in which the immune system begins identifying the thyroid gland as a foreign body and attacking it with antibodies. Symptoms are varied, but include fatigue, muscle weakness, tremors, high blood pressure, weight and hair loss and trouble concentrating.

Williams also contracted COVID-19 in September 2021, with pictures from the paparazzi showing her in a wheelchair. She further announced a diagnosis of lymphedema in 2019.