The highly anticipated pretaped interview with Wendy Williams on The View has left audiences and fans reeling after two attendees shared exclusive details with Entertainment Weekly, describing the segment as “heartbreaking.” The interview, which aired on Friday, March 14, 2025, offered a rare glimpse into the former talk show host’s ongoing conservatorship battle, her health struggles, and her emotional plea for freedom, sparking renewed calls to #FreeWendy.
The 60-year-old media icon joined The View hosts—Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, and Alyssa Farah Griffin—via phone for a 15-20 minute segment recorded on Thursday, March 13, at ABC Studio B in Manhattan. Audience members Kiki Ball-Change, a New York City drag performer, and her friend Tamara Rotela, who provided Entertainment Weekly with screenshots of their tickets, recounted the emotional atmosphere in the studio. Kiki noted that the crew faced technical difficulties, with the phone line cutting out mid-interview, forcing a brief pause to reconnect Williams.
Williams, who has been under a conservatorship since 2022, spoke candidly about her situation, which she has previously described as “emotional abuse” and likened to a “prison.” She has been living in a memory care unit at Coterie Hudson Yards, a New York assisted-living facility, following a 2023 diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia and aphasia—conditions she disputes. Her legal guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, has claimed Williams is “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and legally incapacitated,” but Williams insisted on The View that she is not incapacitated, stating, “How dare they say I have incapacitation. I do not.” She also revealed passing a recent cognitive test, which she underwent voluntarily after being hospitalized on March 10 following an NYPD welfare check prompted by a handwritten note she dropped from her window that read, “Help! Wendy!!”
The interview took a poignant turn when Williams expressed her frustration with the restrictions imposed by her guardianship. She shared a story about attempting to leave the facility for lunch with her niece, Alex Finnie, only to be told she wasn’t allowed out and that her niece could face arrest. According to TMZ, the facility filed a police report claiming Finnie had “snuck” Williams out, escalating tensions around her confinement. Williams pleaded with the hosts, “Get off my neck,” referring to her guardian and the judge overseeing her case, adding that she wants to “move on with my life” and never work with them again.
Kiki Ball-Change, reflecting on the interview, told Entertainment Weekly, “It was really heartbreaking, which was something I wasn’t expecting.” She also shared a touching moment between takes when Williams and Behar tried to make plans to meet socially, but Williams explained she couldn’t accept outside calls and would need to get Behar’s number to reach out herself. Kiki, visibly moved, expressed hope that those in power would “free Wendy,” calling for a broader examination of conservatorships and their true purpose. “There needs to be a good, hard look at conservatorships and guardianships and who it’s really protecting at the end of the day,” she said.
Williams also offered lighter updates, revealing that her iconic purple chair from The Wendy Williams Show—which ended in 2022—is in storage, along with her clothing and personal items. She expressed a desire to retrieve them for a new apartment if her guardianship is terminated. Despite her health challenges, including a history of Graves’ disease and past struggles with substance abuse, Williams told the hosts she is now “alcohol-free,” though she admitted to drinking on her birthday in 2024.
The interview has reignited public debate about Williams’ situation, with fans on social media echoing Kiki’s sentiments and demanding her release. As Williams continues her fight for freedom, her appearance on The View has shed new light on her resilience—and the heartbreaking reality of her current circumstances.