After more than 13 years of syndication, iconic talk show “The Wendy Williams Show” has officially been cancelled. The news comes after a tumultuous few years for the show and its muckraking host. The final episode of the show, currently being hosted by comedian Sherri Shepherd, will air on Friday.
This news comes two months after Williams told Good Morning America that she had plans to return to the show in the near future.
“I’m going to be back on the Wendy show. Bigger and brighter than ever,” she said in March.
The 13th and final season had been marked by disorder from the start, after Williams’ health issues, particularly Grave’s disease, delayed the show’s October 2021 premiere.
Williams, who started her media career as a New York radio host and “shock jockette,” where she built up a huge following for her radio program and eventual talk show due to her unabashed celebrity digs and pop culture critiques. She has had public feuds with many celebs, most memorably Whitney Houston who called in to her radio show and confronted her.
Williams’ iconic catchphrase, “How you doin’?” became part of the cultural canon, and many are extremely disappointed with the news.
In 2019, she separated from her now ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, who was also her manager and the executive producer of of her show, after he reportedly fathered a child with another woman. That was just the latest piece of a public downfall that saw the gossip hound’s own private struggles put on display.
She first disclosed her health struggles in 2017, after fainting onstage during a live episode. It was reported that she was living in a sober house in 2019 due to issues surrounding substance abuse.
A new talk show hosted by Sherri Shepherd, “The Sherri Shepherd Show”, has been announced to take over Williams’ time slot.
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