Media maven Wendy Williams’ son Kevin Hunter Jr. is speaking out for the first time. In an exclusive interview with The Sun, he shared information about the status of his mom’s health and concern that she’s being taken advantage of by those closest to her.
Williams, 58, was placed under guardianship last year and is currently battling alcoholism–a struggle she’s been open about over the years. Williams also has Graves’ disease and thyroid issues.
According to Kevin Jr., the guardianship exacerbated the decline of Williams’ mental and physical health and members of her inner circle are still trying to profit from her ongoing projects.
“I know there are all sorts of things happening that I know in her right mind she would never agree to,” he told the publication.
The financial guardianship happened last May when Williams got in a public dispute with Wells Fargo after they froze her accounts because they claimed she was a victim of “financial exploitation, dementia or undue influence.” The TV host suspected misconduct from her financial advisor and requested most recent bank statements to switch bank accounts. Wells Fargo both refused to give her the bank statements and put out a petition for guardianship on the basis of her being an “incapacitated person.” Despite her objections, they won.
“As hard as it is seeing her being taken advantage of, I know that if I’m making sure she, as a person, is okay, that is the important thing,” her son said. “Because eventually, she’s going to realize the craziness that’s been going on.”
Williams has been photographed in public a few times since then and fans have raised concerns about her wellbeing based on those images. The Wendy Williams Show host was hospitalized last month in New York a few days before she was set to speak at the Atlanta Women’s Expo. She has since been released and allegedly moved out of New York.
During The Sun interview, Hunter Jr. said work should not be a priority for Williams at this time considering her struggles with alcoholism.
“What’s been made more important by the people around her is that while her health may not be great, she needs to keep on earning income, and in my opinion that should not be a priority at all. And whoever has been hired – they are taking advantage of someone who needs to get better.”
Hunter Jr., a college student, continued to shed light on how his mother’s alcohol use affects her health.
“I know the rate that she uses alcohol isn’t like a normal person – and we’ve spoken about it. I’ve said ‘This is one thing where you don’t know how to approach it normally, and that’s fine,'” he said. “And it’s gotten to a point where yes, it could have that effect that it might be fatal because it affects her way worse than a normal person since it stays in her system.”
Williams’ only son isn’t the sole person with these concerns, though. Her brother Tommy also shared similar sentiments in May last year. He accused her manager Will Selby of pushing her to work and make money (her podcast in particular) despite her “not being in the right frame of mind to get a show going.”
She has also been working on an unscripted project as of late. Hunter Jr. claims Selby offered him $25,000 to partake but he declined because he didn’t agree with them putting out a show that would make his mom look bad.
Currently, the former TV host is being cared for by Selby as well as Sabrina Morrissey who was appointed as her permanent financial guardian Sabrina. After Morrissey took control of Williams’ estate, she cut off her son and ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, financially.
Hunter Jr. said he doesn’t “feel like Sabrina has done a great job at all,” managing his mom’s finances and he suspects her of shady dealings.
“Whether it be that she is receiving income on the side or what, but there is a lot of her pushing away of myself and everybody down here, and saying that she’s not going to give updates. She’s really vague with updates.”
He added that he thinks Williams should take a break from trying to push her career forward and take pride in her many accomplishments to date.
“I’m praying that whoever is in control now doesn’t ruin whatever hope there is for her to get back up again,” he added.