The movie that is expected to offer a look at 'the reality of Wendy's life' is called a 'labor of love' by producers as fans criticized the project amid the star's health struggle.
- Feb 28, 2024
AceShowbiz - "Where Is Wendy Williams?" opens up on "the reality of Wendy's life." The 59-year-old TV star discovered she had primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in 2023, and Mark Ford and Erica Hanson - the executive producers of "Where Is Wendy Williams?" - have defended their new documentary amid criticism of the project.
"It was important for us to be able to shed light on what the reality of Wendy's life was under this care," Erica told Extra.
"We were concerned about her being in that apartment, being alone, clearly drinking a lot … she was really isolated and we were really concerned about her, that one of the reasons why we stayed and really kept pushing … It is scary to think of if we weren't there at times."
Mark added, "At a certain point we were more concerned about what would happen to her if we stopped filming than if we continued."
Erica has also described the project - which was filmed before Wendy's diagnosis was revealed to the public - as a "labour of love."
She added, "Even though it's a very intimate personal story of Wendy, I really believe it's a universal story that millions of people can relate to. And it's not comfortable and it is painful at times, but I feel like we did shed light on really important story for Wendy and how she was or wasn't getting the care she needed."
Wendy was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia last year, and her care team recently revealed that the issues have "already presented significant hurdles in Wendy's life."
The care team said in a statement, "Over the past few years, questions have been raised at times about Wendy's ability to process information and many have speculated about Wendy's condition, particularly when she began to lose words, act erratically at times, and have difficulty understanding financial transactions."
"In 2023, after undergoing a battery of medical tests, Wendy was officially diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. Aphasia, a condition affecting language and communication abilities, and frontotemporal dementia, a progressive disorder impacting behaviour and cognitive functions, have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy's life."
