New Evaluation Challenges Williams' Dementia Diagnosis

A recent medical evaluation has contradicted the frontotemporal dementia diagnosis that underpinned Wendy Williams' court-ordered guardianship, prompting her legal team to seek an end to the arrangement that has restricted her personal and financial autonomy for nearly three years.

The 61-year-old former daytime television host underwent a series of neurological tests in New York City last month. A neurologist concluded that Williams does not have frontotemporal dementia, a progressive brain disorder affecting behavior, language and decision-making, according to sources familiar with the evaluation. The findings, delivered to her attorneys in late September, challenge the 2022 diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia and aphasia that led to the guardianship's imposition. Williams' lawyer, Joe Tacopina, plans to file court documents within the next two weeks requesting a hearing to terminate the oversight. If the judge denies the motion, Tacopina intends to demand a jury trial to determine her capacity for self-determination.

The guardianship originated in 2022 after Wells Fargo alerted New York Supreme Court Justice Arlene Bluth to concerns over potential financial exploitation and...