Wendy Williams vows to go back to daytime talk show 'stronger' and insists she's doing 'OK' in rare video update... following claims her health has left her 'incapacitated'

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Wendy Williams made rare comments about her health and the future of her daytime talk show in a video uploaded to Instagram on Wednesday.

The 57-year-old, who has been absent from the Wendy Williams Show since July 2021 as she reportedly battles 'a number of medical issues,' stressed to her followers that she planned to come back 'stronger' than ever.

'I wanna be all I can be and then get back to New York and get on down with The Wendy Williams Show,' she said upon the clip's close.

Speaking out: Wendy Williams made rare comments about her health and the future of her daytime talk show in a video uploaded to Instagram on Wednesday

In the video, filmed by her son Kevin Hunter Jr., 21, Williams could be seen walking along the beach in Miami, Florida. Just three months prior, she was wheelchair bound.

She had on a black hooded sweatshirt and a New York Yankees baseball cap. 

Williams began the five-minute video by reassuring fans she was doing 'OK,' which contradicts recent claims that the star's health has left her 'incapacitated' and in need of guardianship.

'It's just after 8 o'clock in the morning and I'm doing OK, you know? It's very peaceful here,' she said, before revealing that she gets up every morning and takes a walk along the beach before heading to the gym.

Gone too long: The 57-year-old host, who has been absent from the Wendy Williams Show since July 2021 as she battles Graves' disease, stressed to her followers that she planned to come back 'stronger' than ever

Ready for it: 'I wanna be all I can be and then get back to New York and get on down with The Wendy Williams Show,' she said upon the clip's close

Williams also shared what she planned to accomplish for the day, including several phone calls to her relatives and business partners.  

'What do you have to say to those people who think you're up to whatever it is?' asked Kevin, to which Williams replied: 'Excuse me, I am going back stronger.

'At [57] years old, there are things that happen to people. I would say things usually start about 40 and they go up from there, you know, so you've got to eat the right food,' she explained.

She concluded the video by doubling down on her commitment to recovery and one day heading back to New York to reassume her role as host of the Wendy Williams Show.

On the mend: Williams began the five-minute video by reassuring fans she was doing 'OK,' which contradicts recent claims that the star's health has left her 'incapacitated' and in need of guardianship

Part of aging: 'At [57] years old, there are things that happen to people. I would say things usually start about 40 and they go up from there, you know, so you've got to eat the right food,' she explained

No doubt about it: She concluded the video by doubling down her commitment to recovery and one day heading back to New York to reassume her role as host of the Wendy Williams Show

Williams's team have said she has been absent from her show due to an ongoing fight with Graves' disease, an autoimmune disorder.

She was expected to return in September, but then contracted COVID-19, and was hospitalized that month for a psychiatric evaluation. Williams was pictured being wheeled around New York City in a wheelchair, looking a shadow of her former self.

The host has reportedly spent January in Florida, to be close to her son.

On Tuesday, it emerged that Sherri Shepherd will be named as the show's 'permanent guest host.'

When Shepherd, 54, first hosted in November 2021 ratings soared to the highest it's been all season.

Support system: The video was shot by her son Kevin Hunter Jr., 21; Kevin and Wendy pictured in 2019

The actress has guest-hosted multiple times since, with others such as Jerry Springer and Fat Joe also taking hosting duties.

People magazine also reported that Williams will not be returning to her show until at least the fall - if at all.

'Wendy won't be returning to the show for the rest of this season. Her healing is going slower than everyone had hoped,' a source said.

'She continues to deal with a number of medical issues, including Graves' disease, and she and her team are taking it one day at a time.

'But reports of a stroke, drugs or addiction issues or a dementia diagnosis are all false.

Battle: Wendy Williams is seen in September 2020, ten months before she stopped hosting The Wendy Williams Show. She is currently battling Wells Fargo bank for access to her accounts, after they were frozen amid claims she is incapacitated

New host: On Tuesday, it emerged that Sherri Shepherd will be named as the show's 'permanent guest host'

'Whether Wendy can return in the fall will depend on how her healing goes over the summer. Her health is the most important thing.'

But other sources have painted a far more concerning picture.

'The spark is gone,' one insider told The Sun.

'That Wendy, who for ten years had that spark in her eyes, that cheeky grin and that little wink is not the same now.

'She's not always functioning like she used to be. She has days where she needs help eating, getting out of bed, and getting dressed.

'Sometimes she goes out in a robe and without shoes on- the old Wendy would never have allowed herself to be seen out like that.'

The source added that her memory was faltering.

'There are people who Wendy knows - who have worked closely with her - and there are days that she has no idea who they are.' 

On Wednesday a lawyer for her bank, Wells Fargo, sent a letter to New York County Supreme Court Judge Arlene Bluth seeking a hearing to discuss her finances.

Frail: Williams is seen in September 2021, looking visibly frail. It is unclear whether she will return to her hosting duties

Williams's former financial advisor, Lori Schiller, claimed that Williams was 'of unsound mind', which led to Wells Fargo blocking the New Jersey-born presenter's access to her accounts in mid January.

Williams's lawyers disputed Schiller's claim, and on February 4 accused Wells Fargo of overstepping their authority.

Now the bank has responded, with David H. Pikus, representing Wells Fargo, writing in court documents obtained by Page Six that they were worried about her, and wanted a professional to oversee her finances.

'We are concerned about [Williams'] situation,' Pikus wrote on Wednesday.

'It is our hope that the Guardianship Part [of the court] will imminently appoint a temporary guardian or evaluator to review the situation and ensure that [Williams'] affairs are being properly handled.'

Pikus told the judge that the bank 'has strong reason to believe' Williams is 'the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.' He requested to keep the case 'under seal' to 'preserve the confidential nature.'

Pikus claimed Schiller had 'recently witnessed signs of exploitation, including Williams' own expressed apprehensions' about the people around her.

Concerns: David H. Pikus, representing Wells Fargo, said in court documents that the bank was 'concerned about Williams's situation' 

Pikus did not clarify who he meant.

He wrote that 'other independent third parties who know [Williams] well … share these concerns.'

Williams' lawyer Celeste McCaw wrote in response to Wednesday's letter that her Emmy-winning client 'denies that she is the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.'

McCaw also requested a temporary restraining order against Wells Fargo to restrain the bank 'from freezing [Williams'] accounts and interfering with her right to access her financial assets and statements.'

The trailblazing Williams launched her eponymous show in 2008, and now in its 13th season it remains one of the biggest hits in daytime TV history.

The show was built around Williams, then a popular radio host known for her no-holds-barred take on celebrity gossip.

The show has been deeply personal, charting the end of her 22-year marriage to television producer Kevin Hunter in 2019, when she discovered he had been having an affair and fathered a child with his mistress.

Divorce: Wendy Williams is pictured in 2012 with her then-husband Kevin Hunter, a TV producer. They divorced in 2019 after he was found to have had an affair

Date Wendy: Williams is seen with Mike Esterman, a building contractor from Maryland, who she met on a 'Date Wendy' section of her show. The pair dated for a couple of months, splitting in May 2021

In February 2021 she hosted a 'Date Wendy' segment on her show and met Mike Esterman, a Maryland building contractor, who she began dating.

The relationship was over by May, with Esterman saying they split due to the distance and their busy schedules.

Williams reacted angrily to him talking about the breakup, telling her viewers: 'I didn't say anything because I'm that grown. We would've had this discussion way behind the scenes.

'I am not embarrassed because I'm that grown.

'But since childish ones — Mike — well he's giving quotes!'

Esterman, angry at being labelled childish, told Page Six: 'Of course she has to have the last word, and because she is the kind of person that she is, she's the only thing that will make herself look best.'

In August, Williams 'went Instagram official' with an unknown man she referred to as her boyfriend.

'My son's 21st birthday party on the yacht in #Miami was everything he wanted! Even my boyfriend,' she captioned the photo.

Mystery man: In August 2021 Williams posted a photo of her with a mystery man she called her boyfriend