Wendy Williams begs for freedom as she's seen for first time in six months amid toxic guardianship battle

Wendy Williams had an alarming message for fans as she made a rare public appearance for the first time in months recently – amid her toxic guardianship battle.

The former host, 62, who was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2023, and has been locked in a guardianship since 2022, spoke out as she headed to lunch in NYC.

In her first public sighting since February, Williams was asked what she wanted people to know about 'what she is going through,' with the star responding, 'I want out!'

The star appeared to be referencing the draconian terms of her guardianship – which she has previously said left her feeling like a 'prisoner' during her time at a luxury assisted-living facility in New York.

She has previously insisted she’s not incapacitated and wants out of the guardianship, claiming she’s being controlled against her will. 

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Wendy Williams for comment and has yet to hear back.

In February, Williams spoke to Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts from a New York care facility where she had been living for a few years amid her diagnosis.

She said: 'How am I doing? I'm still in prison, so to speak. As I said, because it's a fact, this is the memory unit. That's what this floor is called, the memory unit. 

'And it is true that these people who live here don't remember anything. Look, I don't belong here at all. This is ridiculous.

'Frontotemporal dementia? Uh, how dare you. And I'm not saying you, because I've been accused of having that. And how do you prove it by keeping me locked here so that you can't… I can't see, look. I can't go out.'

Due to the terms of her guardianship, she could not receive calls, visits or leave the facility without receiving permission of attorney Sabrina E. Morrissey, her guardian, first. 

Four months later, she told New York Post columnist Cindy Adams, 'I’ve by now rested my case. It’s $25,000 a month here. There’s grass, trees, two floors, no cars around. Can’t even do the elevator to go down. It, too, is locked. I once was a connoisseur of food and now sometimes I’ll just have meals in my room. And I don’t drink.

'And I’m 61. And mine is a locked floor. And there’s also an in and out hospital.

'There’s always security with me. Look, I go to church every Sunday. It’s the Christian Cultural Center -  10 am. I go with a personal aide.

She added, 'Best I can do is Monday and Friday I go to the gym. Let me tell you something else - and that is that I don’t know exactly how, what, why but I have gone through a lot of s**t.'

Last year, a top neurologist reportedly disputed that the former Wendy Williams Show host has frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, despite claims she had been diagnosed with the disease.

In 2024, her team announced: 'As Wendy’s fans are aware, in the past she has been open with the public about her medical struggles with Graves’ Disease and Lymphedema as well as other significant challenges related to her health.'

They claimed at the time that after undergoing 'a battery of tests,' doctors had determined Williams had the neurodegenerative disease.

Her team concluded: 'The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances.' 

Williams, who was placed in a legal guardianship in 2022 after her bank, Wells Fargo, allegedly discovered suspicious activities on her accounts, has been living in a luxury assisted living facility in Manhattan amid her legal and health issues.

Williams has said she feels like a prisoner and has been fighting in court to terminate the guardianship, arguing she has 'regained the capacity' to function independently.

The doctor's determinations about her brain health were reportedly backed by several experts who spoke to TMZ and claimed that patients with FTD do not ever get better – as Williams has – only worse, disproving the initial diagnosis.

In 2022, Morrissey claimed Williams was ‘permanently incapacitated’ due to her dementia battle.

In March 2025, Williams made a bold move by retaining a new legal team to fight for her freedom and challenge the court-ordered arrangement.

The star hired attorney Joe Tacopina, who recently represented A$AP Rocky, to help secure her freedom from her three-year conservatorship.

Since then, a #FreeWendy movement has gained momentum.

In a dramatic moment caught on camera in early April, Williams was seen banging on her facility window while supporters rallied in the street below, demanding she be released.