Wendy Williams, 59, is diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and speech-affecting aphasia - the same condition as Bruce Willis - amid health battle
- Williams has battled alcohol abuse and mental health issues in recent years
- She has been out of reach from family at a treatment facility since April 2023
- Williams has been open about struggles with Graves' disease and Lymphedema
Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia, it was confirmed Thursday.
The care team for the 59-year-old former host of The Wendy Williams Show announced her new diagnosis in a press release.
They said Williams had undergone 'a battery of medical tests' before arriving at the diagnosis, which comes days ahead of the release of her Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, which details her struggles with alcohol abuse and mental health in recent years.
The diagnoses are notably the same as the ones film legend Bruce Willis received in 2022 and 2023.
The statement noted that Williams had been diagnosed back in 2023. The talk show host, who was famous for spreading gossip — and often making her own — has reportedly been living in a treatment facility since April 2023.
Wendy Williams, 59, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, her care team revealed on Thursday in a press release; pictured in 2019 in New York City
Her sister, niece and brother recently revealed that they did not know where Williams — who can only be visited by a court-appointed guardian — has been staying, and they can allegedly only speak to her via phone if she chooses to call them first.
Williams has previously shared her battles with the autoimmune disorder Graves' disease and Lymphedema, a build-up of fluid in the tissues that can lead to swelling of the legs — which the gossip monger has dealt with — and the arms.
Graves' disease can cause the thyroid to become overactive, and around 30 percent of suffers will display bulging eyes.
The care team noted that they were sharing the diagnosis at this time as her fans had become concerned in recent years about 'Wendy's ability to process information,' leading many to speculate 'about Wendy's condition, particularly when she began to lose words, act erratically at times, and have difficulty understanding financial transactions.'
In announcing the diagnoses, they added that aphasia is a 'condition affecting language and communication abilities.'
The condition affects around one million Americans, while 180,000 are diagnosed with it each year.
Aphasia can be caused by head injuries, as well as by tumors or strokes, as well as more gradual brain deterioration.
The condition can have varying degrees of severity, and it's unclear how affected Williams is by the condition, as she has not been seen in almost a year.
The talk show host, who was famous for spreading gossip — and often making her own — has reportedly been living in a treatment facility since April 2023
Williams has previously shared her battles with the autoimmune disorder Graves disease and Lymphedema; pictured in February 2023 in NYC
Aphasia affects one's ability to speak, write, read and comprehend speech, while frontotemporal dementia is a related condition involving damage to neurons in the frontal or temporal lobes; pictured in February 2020
Affected individuals have difficulty both with speaking and with comprehending words, and it can also make it difficult or impossible for them to read.
Sufferers can also display personality changes that can be disturbing or even alienating to friends and family members.
Her condition was described as progressive, meaning that she will continue to deteriorate over time.
Frontotemporal dementia also has a key relationship with speech and word recognition.
The condition, which is also described as frontotemporal disorders (FTD), occurs when neurons are damaged in either the brain's frontal lobe, temporal lobe, or both.
It is often accompanied by aphasia, and affected individuals have difficulty with language and comprehension skills.
FTD can also cause a person to have difficulty moving their limbs. Memory loss can occur over time and with more severe cases, but it is generally not as pronounced as for individuals with Alzheimer's disease.
Williams falls squarely within the most-common age range for developing frontotemporal dementia, as most suffers will develop it between 45 and 65, though people can still develop the condition later in life.
Williams' upcoming Lifetime doc Where Is Wendy Williams?, which she is an EP on, features scenes of her appearing to have difficulty communicating, as well as displaying memory problems; seen in February 2023 in NYC
'Unfortunately, many individuals diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia face stigma and misunderstanding, particularly when they begin to exhibit behavioral changes but have not yet received a diagnosis,' her care team wrote.
The health news comes just two days before Williams was set to appear in the Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, which she executive produced.
The two-part documentary filmed her from August 2022 to April 2023, when Williams entered the treatment facility where she remains to this day.
Trailers and advance clips from the film show Williams at what should be the opportunity for a career revival — as she prepared to launch a podcast shortly after the cancellation of The Wendy Williams Show — but instead it appears to have documented her struggles with alcohol abuse, as well as her increasing cognitive difficulties.
One clip featured in a trailer shows Williams saying she doesn't recognize any of the buildings she's being driven past.
The documentary also includes a scene in which she asks her driver to go past her old TV studio — despite having had him drive by it just minutes earlier — according to People.
'I don’t know what the hell is going on,' her driver admits for the cameras. 'I think she’s losing memory. She doesn’t know who I am sometimes.'
The news also puts a darker spin on a seemingly sweet moment in the documentary featuring Blac Chyna, 35.
In a clip obtained Thursday by People, Williams takes the rare step of removing her wig for a heart-to-heart conversation with Chyna.
Williams was seen with friend Blac Chyna in her upcoming doc, but she appeared to not understand Chyna and responded with a non sequitur; pictured in the Where Is Wendy Williams trailer
After Chyna thanked Williams for mentoring her and treating her like a mother, Williams bizarrely replied, ''Well my real name is Wendy Hunter,' using her married name; seen together in 2019 in West Hollywood
The former partner of Rob Kardashian confessed that she had been 'recently changing my life' since the two last spoke, and she attributed the positive changes to Wendy's mentorship.
'You've always been honest with me and put me in my place in the most motherly, kind way,' the former partner of Rob Kardashian confessed. 'Because even when I was going through my darkest times, you never used that against me.
'And that's how you know that the love is genuine, and it's always gonna be there,' she continued, adding that she would always 'be there' for Wendy.
'You can call my phone whenever. I'm so serious,' Chyna (real name: Angela Renée White) said. 'And I think I'm gonna be back and forth from New York, so I'm gonna see you more.'
But Wendy's concerning response didn't make it clear if she had heard or understood anything Chyna had said.
'Well my real name is Wendy Hunter,' the talk show host confessed, using her married name.
She had been married to her second husband, Kevin Hunter, from 1999 until 2020, when they divorced after he fathered a child with another woman.
Chyna repeated Wendy's last name as if to take in the information.
'Yup! And I'm divorced,' Wendy continued. 'He's got no money.'
Chyna followed along with affirmative statements after each of Wendy's statements, though the smile she previously displayed was wiped from her face.
Chyna wiped away any tension by declaring, 'I love you,' as she appeared to tear up.
'So do I,' Wendy whispered as a soft smile spread across her face, before Chyna leaned over on the couch to give her a hug.
'Yup! And I'm divorced,' Wendy continued. 'He's got no money.' Chyna stopped smile but changed subjects when she said 'I love you' and hugged Wendy
After taking extended break from The Wendy Williams Show in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Williams appeared on the series for the final time in 2021.
She did not reappear on the show, and its final season aired through June 2022 with a variety of guest hosts covering for Williams prior to the series' cancellation.
Williams currently has a court-appointed guardian who has been overseeing both her finances and her healthcare.
The former talk show host is reportedly seen in her upcoming documentary accusing her guardian — whose name has not been revealed — of stealing her money, though the filmmakers told People that she never provided any evidence to back up the claim.