Wendy Williams’ legal guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, has filed a lawsuit against A&E Networks, accusing the company and its producers of exploiting the former talk show host’s vulnerable condition for profit.
The suit, which focuses on the production and release of the documentary Where Is Wendy Williams? alleges that Williams was not in a condition to consent to filming and that the producers intentionally took advantage of her cognitive and physical impairments.
According to court documents obtained by the New York Post, Morrissey claims that Wendy Williams was “highly vulnerable and clearly incapable of consenting to being filmed” when the documentary was produced.
Despite this, the production continued, and the final product was released, allegedly against Williams’ wishes. Morrissey contends that the network and producers sought to humiliate and exploit Wendy, who suffers from dementia, for financial gain.
The lawsuit further alleges that Williams was undercompensated for her participation in the documentary, receiving only $82,000 while the network reportedly earned millions from the production.
Morrissey is seeking damages to cover Williams’ lifelong medical care and supervision, arguing that the media companies involved should be held responsible for their actions.
In the complaint, Morrissey states that A&E Networks and the producers acted in a “brutally calculated” and “deliberate” manner, exploiting Williams’ condition.
The document goes on to accuse the network of profiting from the “cognitive and physical decline” of an acclaimed African-American entertainer, in what Morrissey describes as a “cruel and obscene” act.
The lawsuit brings into question the ethical practices of media companies and their treatment of individuals dealing with cognitive impairments, raising concerns about the boundaries of documentary filmmaking and the responsibility of networks to protect vulnerable subjects.
