For 13 years queen of gossip, Wendy Williams officially ended her TV run of “The Wendy Williams Show”.
Williams, whose health took a turn for the worse had to be sidelined from her show since July 2021. A bunch of hosts have filled in for her. TV personality and comedian, Sherri Shepherd, filled in during most of season 13 and hosted the grand finale last Friday, which Williams did not appear on.
Despite Wendy's absence, a montage of highlights from her 13-year run was aired for her fans and a shot of her famous purple chair, empty, was posted symbolically to Williams' social media accounts.
The caption read: “We love you for watching. 💜💜💜“
From the comments it appears Williams’ fans are not impressed by Shepherd, nor the fact that Williams was not present.
queen_lindz_ commented: “HOW TF DO Y’ALL NOT INVITE WENDY WHEN SHE’S THE REASON YOU GOT A CHEQUE! Smfh !!! WENDY WE LOVE YOU @therealwendywilliamsonline you’re iconic and we cannot wait to have you back.”
While dazzle_me_mask said: “WILL LOVE WENDY SHOW FOREVER. AND WONT WATCH ANY OTHER SHOW THAT DOESN'T HAVE WENDY ON IT.! ITS A REMAKE OF WHAT WENDY CREATED. WENDY IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE THE BEST OF THE BEST WITH TALK SHOWS!!! SHE DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB!”
Williams' ex-husband Kevin Hunter, who was also an executive producer of the show, called the final episode a “travesty”.
In a statement online he said: “It is the first time in the history of talk shows for this to be done, especially for a show that has been on for more than 10 years. There is absolutely no reason why a bigger celebration that involved Wendy couldn’t happen,” he said of the programme's "unceremonious departure".
Meanwhile, according to online reports, Williams is ready to begin the next chapter of her career and might be heading off into the world of podcasts, with iTunes so fans will still be able to get their fix of the daytime icon and radio show legend.