Wendy Williams diagnosed with progressive aphasia & frontotemporal dementia

Lifetime has a new documentary about what happened to former talk show Wendy Williams in recent years, starting with her declining health in 2017-21 to the cancelation of her talk show in 2022, to her attempt to relaunch herself with a podcast that same year. People Magazine’s cover story this week is also about all of that, and it looks like Wendy’s extended family is also still searching for answers for what happened with Wendy. Well, just days before Lifetime’s doc airs this weekend, Wendy’s “team” released her diagnosis: primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. The same thing Bruce Willis has.

Former talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, her team said in a statement Thursday. She was diagnosed last year after undergoing several medical tests. Her team said the conditions have “presented significant hurdles in Wendy’s life.”

“Wendy would not have received confirmation of these diagnoses were it not for the diligence of her current care team, who she chose, and the extraordinary work of the specialists at Weill Cornell Medicine. Receiving a diagnosis has enabled Wendy to receive the medical care she requires,” Williams’ team said in a news release.

Primary progressive aphasia is a nervous system syndrome that affects a person’s ability to communicate, according to the Mayo Clinic. People who have it often have trouble expressing their thoughts and can lose their ability to speak and write. Symptoms typically begin before the age of 65.

Frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, refers to a group of diseases that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, the Mayo Clinic said. It is usually associated with behavioral and personality changes and difficulty with language.

Actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, which progressed to frontotemporal dementia.

Williams, 59, has previously opened up about her battles with lymphedema and Graves’ disease. In 2017, she fainted in the middle of a Halloween episode of “The Wendy Williams Show,” but recovered and finished the episode. A year later, she announced that she was taking a three-week break following her Graves’ disease diagnosis.

[From NBC News]

Well, this explains a lot but it also leaves some questions, questions which we probably won’t get answers to. I keep thinking about her alcoholism and drug abuse/relapses in the years before her hospitalization. I keep thinking about the reports of her ex-husband’s physical, emotional and financial abuse too. God, this is sad.

Lifetime also released a clip from the documentary, where Blac Chyna visited Wendy in the treatment facility and Wendy… just does not seem well. Progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia almost presents as something like Alzheimer’s.

#WhereIsWendyWilliams Documentary SNEAK PEEK. Part 1 premieres Saturday 8/7c on @lifetimetv. (Source @lifetimetv @people) pic.twitter.com/fOiTagOzKe

— OMFGRealityTV (@OMFGRealityTV) February 22, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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