by Thinus Ferreira
The Wendy Williams Show is reportedly getting cancelled and will end in June with the same staff hired to work on the new Sherri talk show that will debut later in 2022.
SEE UPDATE BELOW.
According to American reports, the producers told staff working on The Wendy Williams Show that it was getting cancelled at the end of June, and immediately "rehired" everyone to work on the new talk show for Sherri Shepherd who has been a fill-in host.
After numerous announcements of when the latest 13th season of The Wendy Williams Show - seen in South Africa and across the rest of sub-Saharan Africa on BET (DStv 129), would start - and multiple postponements citing Wendy's ongoing health issues and ill health, the producers and Lionsgate distributor Debmar-Mercury who have a responsibility to deliver a show and new episodes, eventually decided to keep Wendy sidelined and to schedule a revolving roster of guest hosts.
Earlier this week Wendy Williams, who has left New York and has been seen cavorting in Miami, suddenly appeared in a new account on Instagram as she's trying to claw back some form of control after she lost control and access of the official WendyShow Instagram account.
The loss of her official Instagram account follows after the American bank Wells Fargo also froze all of her bank accounts after her own financial advisor said Wendy is "not of sound mind" with Wendy now defaulting on payments as well.
According to insiders, Wendy Williams had become "unbearable, having tantrums and throwing things at people. Basically the consensus among the crew is that she didn't want to be there anymore. Her illness may have exacerbated that feeling".
RadarOnline cites sources connected to the show, that the producers and Debmar-Mercury are on the verge of announcing that Sherri Shepherd is taking over from Wendy Williams on a permanent basis, with the talk show that will be refashioned after a new talk show host.
According to reports, the show's producers were still on the fence about whether to wait for Wendy Williams to get better and return to the show following her absence during the current 13th season, but that her latest Instagram video "sent them off the edge" in which she updated fans as she walked down the beach.
Wendy Williams told viewers that she planned on returning to The Wendy Williams Show and would be in better shape than ever.
This angered the production staff who have been trying to get her to film a short video for over a month as an update.
"Producers had been begging Wendy for months to address her fans on social media to explain in her own words what was going on. They were willing to send a team of social media professionals from the show to Florida to film and edit a short video that could be posted over all the Wendy show accounts, but Wendy wouldn't return their calls," a source told RadarOnline.
In September 2021 Wendy Williams was taken to a New York hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
UPDATE Tuesday 22 February 17:00:
Debmar-Mercury officially announced on Tuesday that The Wendy Williams Show will end with Sherri Shepherd taking over as the new talk show host later in 2022.
Sherri will be distributed by Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury with showrunner David Perler remaining in the same position on Sherri, executive producing alongside Sherri Shepherd and her producer partner Jawn Murray.
"Sherri is a natural who proved her hosting skills for many years as a panellist on The View, on Fox's Dish Nation and again this season as a popular guest host of Wendy," Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein say in a statement.
"Like our viewers, we have been impressed by the unique comedic twist Sherri puts on our daily live 'Hot Topics' segment, her creativity and interactions with our guests. Her love for the content and daytime fans is obvious, and we are excited to partner with her to create another long-term talk franchise."
"This is also a bitter-sweet moment for us and our partners at Fox. We all have a great love and affinity for Wendy, who grew into a true icon during her 12 incredible seasons as the solo host of a live, daily talk show dishing on 'Hot Topics' and interviewing celebrities."
"Since Wendy is still not available to host the show as she continues on her road to recovery, we believe it is best for our fans, stations and advertising partners to start making this transition now. We hope to be able to work with Wendy again in the future, and continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery."
