In her statement, 'The Wendy Williams Show' host also accuses her PR agent Howard Bragman of speaking about her 'current status with Debmar Mercury' on her behalf without her consent.
- Feb 23, 2022
AceShowbiz - Wendy Williams has responded to reports saying that she's "incredibly grateful" after Sherri Shepherd was confirmed to officially take over "The Wendy Williams Show" slot. In a new social media post, the talk show queen denied making such statement, which was released by her publicist Howard Bragman.
Making use of her Instagram Story on Tuesday, February 22, the 57-year-old daytime diva addressed the statement made by her PR agent. "Mr. Bragman, Although I appreciate your concerns and respect you immensely, I have not authorized you to make any statements on my behalf regarding my current status with Debmar Mercury," she wrote. "Again, Thanks for your continuing concern and support."
Wendy's social media post came after her spokesperson Howard released a statement to Deadline following "The Wendy Williams Shows" producers' announcement that Sherri would be taking over her show slot in the fall. "It's been a challenging time for Wendy as she deals with her health issues. She is incredibly grateful to Debmar-Mercury, to Sherri and everybody else who has supported the show through this time," so he said.
"She, more than anyone, understands the reality of syndicated television -- you can't go to the marketplace and sell a show that's 'The Maybe Wendy Show'," Howard went on to add. "She understands why this decision was made from a business point of view, and she has been assured by Debmar-Mercury that should her health get to a point where she can host again and should her desire be that she hosts again that she would be back on TV at that time.”
Prior to that, Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein confirmed that "The Wendy Williams Show" will end after 12 seasons due to the host's prolonged health-related absence. "This is also a bitter-sweet moment for us and our partners at FOX," they said. "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," Mort and Ira further explained. "We hope to be able to work with Wendy again in the future, and continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery."
As for Sherri, she seemed happy to finally host her own show. "OMG! I am so excited to have my dream come true and debut my very own talk show SHERRI in the fall," she gushed in an Instagram post on Tuesday. "I can't wait until I return to NY to host the show and merge everything I love…pop culture, talk, entertainment and comedy."
Sherri went on to thank "Debmar-Mercury and FOX for partnering with me on this show." In her statement, the former "The View" co-host also said she's looking forward to embarking on "this new journey."
