‘Wendy Williams’ extended hiatus is just one of the latest in chain of odd events

By MixDex Article may include affiliate links

“The Wendy Williams” show’s latest extended hiatus is just one of many odd events the show has undergone in recent memory.

• On the show’s Halloween 2017 episode, Williams fainted live on air.
• She later explain that she was overheated in her Statue of Liberty Halloween costume.
• Then, in March 2018, Williams missed three weeks of the show after being diagnosed with Grave’s Disease and a Vitamin D deficiency.
• During that time, Jerry O’Connell filled in for some episodes.
• In the latest round of incidents, Williams claims she suffered a shoulder injury and missed the Dec. 17, 2018 taping because of it.
• She returned the next day, but demonstrated erratic behavior on the Dec. 20 episode.
• After the incident, Williams posted a statement blaming the odd behavior on pain medications she had been given for the injury.
• The show then went into reruns for the holiday season, which was previously planned and not unusual for talk shows.
• Williams initially announced she was taking more time off to recover from her injury and would return Jan. 14 instead of the original planned return date of Jan. 7.
• The show will return with new episodes Monday, Jan. 14, but without Williams.
• Instead a rotating panel will take over the show in her absence.
• The show announced another delay with reruns running the week of Jan. 21.
• A rotating panel of guest panel formats were scheduled to air the week of Jan. 28.
• The show announced Nick Cannon would host for three days the week of Feb. 4.
• As of Jan. 30, no return date has been set for Williams.
• “As she has for the past 10 years, Wendy delivers an incomparable live talk show day in and day out and we want to give her the best opportunity to heal and recover,” Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein said in a statement. “Wendy has our complete and unwavering support and we look forward to her return to the iconic purple chair.”
• Williams has been open about her personal battles with addiction, substance abuse and thyroid disease in the past.
• However, the string of odd on air events have lead some to question if her behavior and absences could be due to issues related to one or more of these issues.
• Reports of William’s husband, Kevin Hunter, having an extramarital affair surfaced in 2018, but Williams brushed them off on air.