Wendy Williams Explains Removal From Assisted Living Facility for Hospital Evaluation, Insists She’s “Not Incapacitated”

Wendy Williams called in to New York morning radio show The Breakfast Club on Tuesday to explain what happened the day before, when it was reported that she was removed from the assisted living facility where she’s currently residing and taken to a New York hospital for evaluation.

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed with the NYPD that “it responded to a welfare check” at the location of Williams’ assisted living facility.

Williams, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2023, has been residing at an assisted living facility since 2023. In November 2024, legal documents filed by court-appointed caregiver Sabrina Morrissey described her as “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled and legally incapacitated.”

Williams has since spoken out against her guardianship, calling in to The Breakfast Club in January, where she said she’s “not cognitively impaired” but feels as though she’s “in prison.”

On Tuesday, Williams called again in to The Breakfast Club along with Ginalisa Monterroso from Connect Care Advisory Group, which assists older patients in navigating health care situations. 

“I told them, ‘I am not incapacitated,’” Williams said of her talk with the NYPD officers. “You know, as I’ve been accused, and the floor that I live on is the memory unit — the people who live there don’t remember anything, unlike me. Like, why am I here? What is going on? It’s a cry for help.”

Monterroso explained that she had sent a letter recently to Adult Protective Services formally requesting an investigation into “troubling circumstances” surrounding Williams’ care. On Tuesday’s show, Monterroso explained to radio host Charlamagne tha God how she got the NYPD to arrive and take Williams out of the facility. 

“Yesterday morning, during our morning call, I told Wendy, ‘We will be calling the police and we will be speaking to police, and we were telling them that you are isolated.’ We have a guardian telling the whole building and the world she’s incapacitated.”

With the police in Williams’ room, Monterroso requested that Williams have an independent medical evaluation. The facility pushed back on this, both Williams and Monterroso told the radio hosts, saying to her that testing could be conducted on the premises. After Monterroso insisted, NYPD officers eventually called an ambulance to take Williams away from the building.

At that point, Monterroso called Williams’ lawyer, who drove from Long Island to the New York hospital after being told by her that the former daytime host was “being held captive.” Williams remained in the hospital on Tuesday as she called in to the morning show, as she and Monterroso explained how a tense showdown came over a cognitive test for Williams between Morrissey, who had also arrived at the hospital, and Williams’ lawyer.

“There was a little back and forth as to whether [Morrissey] was going to allow Wendy to get evaluated,” Monterroso explained. “The doctor saw there was a difference between the guardian’s opinion and her lawyer’s opinion, and had to go to his legal department from the hospital to clear it.”

The tests, which indicate competency that a person is able to make decisions, were passed with flying colors. Monterroso and Willians said 10 out of 10 questions were answered correctly.

Williams’ fate in terms of housing and what happens next with her conservatorship are still unresolved, but she said on the radio show that she will be calling in to The View on Friday. The APS and the NYPD are now currently investigating Williams’ situation.

Calls placed Tuesday to Morrissey and Monterroso by The Hollywood Reporter were not immediately returned. On Tuesday, Monterroso had some words for Morrissey as Williams continues her battle.

“I call it an old Jedi mind game,” she said. “She really just wanted the world to believe that Wendy was incapacitated. She had her locked up. Yeah, she gave her a phone where she can receive calls. And her big mistake was that she didn’t realize who Wendy Williams was. That’s right, she has a platform like Breakfast Club, and she’s very well connected. And there are people who will back her up.”