Insiders close to Wendy Williams are now revealing just how dire the star was in the height of her 2020 relapse, just days after she checked back into treatment.
Wendy, 58, was reportedly ‘at death’s door’ prior to her hospitalization two years ago for mental health issues and alcoholism, sources told Page Six on Friday.
Earlier this week, Williams’ rep announced that the talk show host had checked into a treatment facility to get her health under control as she mounts a comeback.
Scary times: Insiders close to Wendy Williams are now revealing just how dire the star was in the height of her 2020 relapse, just days after she checked back into treatment (pictured in August)
‘She was really, in my opinion, at death’s door,’ someone who witness the ordeal revealed, adding that had people in Wendy’s orbit not intervened, she likely would have succumbed to her addiction.
According to sources, Wendy’s pal, DJ Boof, once found the daytime TV legend ‘catatonic’ at her Manhattan apartment a few years back.
But, despite her state, Wendy’s manager didn’t want to call for emergency services to intervene.
‘I don’t think he understood the extent of what was going on, and I don’t think he wanted it to get out that she was not well, and he definitely didn’t want a 911 call like [what] happened a year later,’ the source told Page Six.
Concerning: A troubled Wendy films her talk show from home in 2020
Struggling: Wendy, 58, was reportedly ‘at death’s door’ prior to her hospitalization two years ago for mental health issues and alcoholism, sources told Page Six on Friday
Another source added that Wendy’s living situation was scary at the time: ‘It was pretty much a mess. It was a mess.’
‘She was in her robe, it was soiled, she was catatonic, she was in a very, very bad state. She was looking at the ceiling. She was just not responsive, but her eyes were open, but she was definitely in a catatonic state,’ they said.
The insider added that they found ‘a case of alcohol, open wine bottles and Ketel One’ and cleared the booze away.
The group was worried Wendy might not make it and called in her estranged ex-husband and their adult son to help.
‘She’s going to die. She literally couldn’t stand up,’ the source told Page Six. ‘She was just lying on top of the covers, and she needed 911 help, and [Young’s] like, ‘We’re not getting 911.”
In response to the harrowing story of Wendy’s ‘catatonic’ state back in 2020, her publicist Shawn Zanotti released the following statement to DailyMail.com:
‘The statement that we gave Page Six said exactly what the current focus is, it is no secret that Ms. Williams has had substance abuse issues in her past that she has been very open about, but right now she is taking steps to do what is necessary to heal her overall health to prepare for this next journey in her life.
‘She was in her robe, it was soiled, she was catatonic, she was in a very, very bad state. She was looking at the ceiling. She was just not responsive, but her eyes were open, but she was definitely in a catatonic state,’ they said. (Seen in August)
‘Stories surfacing wanting to dwell on previous stints with alcohol and drug use are trivial to what she is currently facing. Wendy is focusing on her whole self–The Wendy Williams Experience’
Earlier this week it was reported that Williams has gone back into rehab to ‘take some time to focus on her health and wellness’..
A source told Page Six that the 58-year-old’s substance issues have ‘gotten worse,’ as ‘she went from [drinking] wine to straight up vodka.’
It was not clear where the TV personality was seeking help, as she has past been in treatment at locations in New York and Florida.
Response from her publicist: ‘Stories surfacing wanting to dwell on previous stints with alcohol and drug use are trivial to what she is currently facing. Wendy is focusing on her whole self–The Wendy Williams Experience’
Williams’ publicist Shawn Zanotti confirmed: ‘Wendy has entered a wellness facility seeking help to manage her overall health issues.
‘She is taking some time to focus on her health and wellness as she prepares for a major comeback for the next level in her career with ‘The Wendy Experience Podcast’.
‘Ms.Williams is being treated by a team of some of the best doctors in the world. We ask for your prayers and well wishes during this time.’
Williams has had difficulties in controlling her drinking, to the detriment of her overall health, which one source described as ‘failing,’ sources told The U.S. Sun, adding, ‘She can’t stop drinking and she needs to stop drinking; it’s just making her health worse.’
Sources told Page Six that the production company for her one-time series, Debmar-Mercury, ‘refused’ to assist in the effort to get Williams help amid her issues. The source said, ‘They turned their backs on her,’ and ‘had too much control over someone so vulnerable.’
Williams has also been in the center of other controversies, as she has been legally battling the financial institution Wells Fargo after she was locked out of bank accounts she held.
Williams’ former lawyer LaShawn Thomas told Page Six last month that the TV personality was abandoned by her ex-financial adviser, Lori Schiller, who did not respond to the allegations.
Williams has past dealt with substance abuse issues, as she was able to achieve an extended period of sobriety until around late 2018/early 2019, when she took a two-month hiatus from filming to enter a halfway house.
She said on her show in March of 2019: ‘Only Kevin knows about this. Not my parents, nobody. Nobody knew because I look so glamorous out here. After I finish my appointments … I am driven by my 24-hour sober coach back to a home that I live in the [Tri-state area] with a bunch of smelly boys who have become my family.’
More drama: Williams has also been in the center of other controversies, as she has been legally battling the financial institution Wells Fargo after she was locked out of bank accounts she held