In the court documents, the daytime diva's ex-husband and former executive producer of 'The Wendy Williams Show' claims that the termination from the show makes him suffer 'an economic loss' up to $10 million.
- Mar 2, 2022
AceShowbiz - Wendy Williams' ex-husband Kevin Hunter is dragging "The Wendy Williams Show" producers to federal court. The former executive producer of the talk show sued the program executives for wrongful termination.
In new court documents obtained by The Shade Room, the daytime diva's former spouse sued the production company Debmar-Mercury along with its executives Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus. The lawsuit was filed on Monday, February 28 in New York Court.
In the petition, Kevin explained that the production company Debmar-Mercury, who was founded by Ira and Mort in 2004, began negotiations with Wendy and Kevin for a six-week trial for a talk show in 2007. Kevin further claimed that he represented his then-wife during the talks at the time.
"[Kevin] was used to being behind the scenes of Williams' prior ventures," the suit read. It also noted that Kevin "used his business knowledge and street smarts to negotiate a significant financial increase from the initial contract being offered to [Wendy]."
The talk show premiered in 2008 and was immediately a breakthrough hit. " 'The Wendy Williams Show' dominated the 10 AM daily morning time slot, and to date, no network has been able to beat the Show at this time slot," the petition stated.
Kevin, who served as executive producer of "The Wendy Williams Show" from 2007-2019, further insisted that he played such a major role in the show's success and planned most of the concepts and branding behind the show. In 2019, he was asked to leave the show after Wendy filed for divorce due to him having an alleged affair with a woman named Sharina Hudson and having a love child.
In the suit, Kevin pointed out that he was wrongfully fired. "The termination of [Kevin] was based strictly upon [his marital status and his impending divorce to the Show's host, ignoring all of the contributions that [Kevin] made to make the Show a success," the paperwork read.
The filing claimed that many of the segments Kevin helped create on "The Wendy Williams Show", including popular segments like "Hot Topics" and "Shoe Cam", will be "part of Sherri Shepherd's new show." The petition also said that "the show never recovered from his firing" and "defendants underestimated Plaintiff's value to the show."
Currently, Kevin is looking for $7 to $10 million in damages and "punitive damages, lost wages, commissions." He's also asking for "the costs and fees of this proceeding, including legal fees."
Kevin's motion came after it's announced that "The Wendy Williams Show" time slot will be replaced by Sherri's new show. Following the bombshell announcement, it's reported that Wendy, who allegedly had fired her management team, would "consider legal action against her producers."
"Wendy is on sick leave and has basically been fired. This isn't right and Wendy isn't going to take this," a source claimed last month. "She is considering legal action against her producers and is also deciding on what to do about Sherri Shepherd."
Wendy reportedly would do things like Chris Cuomo and Megyn Kelly after their sudden firing. "Wendy has been reading the news where Chris Cuomo is suing CNN for $60 million and Megyn Kelly got $60 million when she was kicked out of NBC," said the insider.
