Physically, Wendy Williams is on the mend — but emotionally, she’s still reeling after her scary on-air collapse.
On Tuesday, the talk show host fainted during a live broadcast of her self-titled show — a collapse she told audiences occurred because she had “overheated” in her Statue of Liberty costume.
On Wednesday’s broadcast, Williams, 53, recounted the incident in detail.
“First of all, I was trending all day — fabulous,” she began. “But a lot of people thought that was a joke. No, that was a not a joke. I don’t want to fall. I’m a tall woman, and it’s a long way down. I’m also a woman of a particular age, and I’m not trying to break anything. Also I don’t do stunts and jokes for you like that. I don’t need that.”
Williams said she was being briefed by one of her producers about the next segment during a commercial break 48 minutes in the show when she began to feel “hot and a little dizzy … like something is about to happen.”
“As she was talking to me, all I heard was ‘blah, blah, blah’ and all I’m thinking is, ‘Wendy, oh my gosh,’ ” she recalled. “The crew brought out the clear plexiglass podium that you saw — we were about to do our Halloween costume contest. I was like, ‘All right, Wendy. At least you’re wearing flats and you’re holding onto this and there’s only 12 more minutes of the show. You can do it girl.’ ”
“So we come back from the break, I heard nothing that she said,” she said. “I immediately go to the teleprompter … and that’s when you saw me with the eyes.”
“It was scary,” she continued, choking up. “It was really scary. It was so scary, all I could think of in the middle of the scare was, ‘Don’t pull the podium over on you, because that’ll make it worse.’ ”
Williams also explained why she reached for the back of her head right before falling over.
“That was because I promised myself two things,” she said. “First of all, this is never going to happen again. Second of all, if it’s going to go down, it’s got to be as cute as I could make it. So I’m going down with the crown, and I’m not pulling this plexiglass podium to break my bones.”
“They told me that I went down on my booty first … rolled onto my back, then, boom — on my head,” she continued. “I have no headache, no lump on my head. At 53 years old, no aching in my body. I am shocked.”
According to Williams, it was “chaos” and “pandemonium” on the floor and behind the scenes.
“Next thing I know, my husband comes out and collects me and brings me backstage, because he knows what I want to do,” she said. “I want to hurry up and get back out here and close out the show like the champ I am.”
“Maybe that’s my fault for pushing myself too hard,” she added. “But I have a very, very hard work ethic.”
After closing out the show, Williams met with paramedics backstage, who informed her she was low on electrolytes.
“My blood pressure was fine, my heart rate was fine, everything was fine,” she said. “I’m a 53-year-old middle-aged woman going through what middle-aged women go through, if you know what I mean. The costume got hot. Right before passing out, I felt like I was in the middle of a campfire.”
Williams concluded by thanking her fans and colleagues for all their support.
“I want to thank you all for your tweets and your flowers,” she said. “I got all of your well wishes … even the haters, because you motivate me.”
The Wendy Williams Show airs weekdays (check local listings).
This article originally appeared on People.
