According to Newsweek, The Wendy Williams Show is coming to an end after 14 years and over 1,500 episodes, its distributor confirmed.
Why Is The Wendy Williams Show ending?
Per the statement issued by the distributors, Wendy seems to be ending because they do not envision Wendy Williams returning as host any time soon.
The 57-year-old last hosted her show in July 2021, but was forced to step back to recover from numerous health problems. This followed breaks the star 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. Systems are varied but include fatigue, muscle weakness, tremors, high blood pressue, weight and hair loss and trouble concentrating.
Williams also contracted a breakthrough case of COVID-19 in September 2021, with pictures from the paparazzi showing her in a wheelchair. She also announced a diagnosis of lymphedema in 2019.
News of Shepherd’s new show comes a few days after Williams hinted in an Instagram video that she wanted to return to the show at some point. She said: “I wanna be all I can be and then get back to New York and get on down with The Wendy Williams Show,” in a video that saw her walking along a beach in Florida.
However, Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein said in a statement: “Since Wendy is still not available to host the show as she continues on her road to recovery, we believe it is best for our fans, stations and advertising partners to start making this transition now. We hope to be able to work with Wendy again in the future, and continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery.”
Therefore, the company is leaving the door open for The Wendy Williams Show to return should Williams’ health improve.
Sherri is set to air on Fox in the fall of 2022. In the meantime, the latest set of guest hosts for Wendy have been announced, and included Shepherd and fellow frequent co-host Michael Rapaport, as well as Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Bevy Smith and Terrence J.
