The Wells Fargo and Wendy Williams Drama Explained

It’s been just about two years since Wendy Williams was placed under a financial guardianship, another term for a conservatorship. Since then, she’s been incredibly outspoken about her desire to be released from it, claiming Wells Fargo was not honest in its initial court filing.

Especially after the public scrutiny and drama surrounding Britney Spears’s conservatorship, many are closely watching as Wendy’s is unfolding. Here’s what you need to know.

At the start of 2022, Wendy suspected her financial advisor of misconduct and requested statements for her accounts from Wells Fargo. It was then that the bank petitioned for the talk show host to be put under a financial guardianship, claiming it had “strong reason to believe that she is the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation,” per a letter submitted to the court. At this time, Wendy was visiting her son in Miami, where she was diagnosed with dementia.

Though Wendy’s son, Hunter, denied abusing her finances in the new docuseries, Wells Fargo successfully placed Wendy’s accounts under a financial guardianship, claiming that it was “relying not only on reports of the financial advisor, who has recently witnessed telltale signs of exploitation, including [Williams’s] own expressed apprehensions, but also upon other independent third-parties who know the petitioner well and share these concerns.”

TMZ recently revealed that Wendy’s financial guardian is a woman named Sabrina Morrissey, and leading up to the release of the A&E docuseries she filed a temporary restraining order and lawsuit against the production company to (unsuccessfully) halt the release of the show. Currently, Sabrina is the only person who is able to contact Wendy directly while she’s in a care facility being treated for her cognitive issues; her family can only contact Wendy if she reaches out first.

Though the courts ultimately decided that a financial guardianship was needed in Wendy’s case, her family is feeling particularly left out of the conversation, claiming that they have no access to Wendy.

“All I know is that Wendy and her team walked into the courtroom one way, and they walked out, and the family is completely excluded,” Wendy’s sister Wanda Finnie told People.

Alongside many of Wendy’s other family members, Wanda also participated in the docuseries, saying “All I want is for my sister to be healthy.”

“She has withstood attack after attack,” Wanda continued. “She is my hero. She will always be my hero. I will do whatever has to be done to help her be healthy.”

Since she was originally appointed a financial guardian, Wendy’s family has been outspoken about their support for the former talk show host, reiterating that it’s not in her best interest.

“Wendy doesn’t agree with a financial guardian being appointed,” Thomas told The Hollywood Reporter. “If it’s the court’s intention to have one appointed over her affairs for the long haul, she definitely isn’t going to accept that.”