ABC "Dancing With the Stars" season 29 contestants.
Aformer “Dancing With the Stars” competitor has entered a “wellness facility” to get some “help to manager her overall health issues.”
Wendy Williams’s rep Shawn Zanotti told Heavy that reports that Williams had entered “rehab” were not true.
“She is taking some time to focus on her health and wellness as she prepares for a major comeback for the next level in her career with ‘The Wendy Experience Podcast’. Ms.Williams is being treated by a team of some of the best doctors in the world. We ask for your prayers and well wishes during this time,” read a press release sent to Heavy by Zanotti.
The news prompted a report from Page Six in which a source close to the former talk show host revealed that Williams was in a very bad place two years ago. At the time, she had sought treatment for alcohol addiction.
Heavy has reached out to Zanotti for an update on Williams.
Here’s what you need to know:
Williams Was in a ‘Catatonic’ State When Friends Found Her in 2020
Williams has been open and honest about her health struggles, from being diagnosed with Graves disease to struggling with addiction.
“Well, for some time now and even today and beyond I have been living in a sober house. … And you know I’ve had a struggle with cocaine in my past. I never went to a place to get the treatment. I don’t know how, except God was sitting on my shoulder and I just stopped,” Williams said on an episode of “The Wendy Williams Show” in March 2019, according to the Daily Mail.
Sources close to Williams tell Page Six that she was “at death’s door” in May 2020. At the time, a couple of friends had found her in a “catatonic” state inside her apartment in New York City. The outlet reports that Williams’ manager Bernie Young didn’t want to call anyone for help because he didn’t want the story to leak to the press.
“I don’t think he understood the extent of what was going on, and I don’t think he wanted it to get out that she was not well, and he definitely didn’t want a 911 call like [what] happened a year later,” one of Williams’ friends told Page Six.
The source told the outlet that Williams’ apartment was “a mess” when she was found.
“She was looking at the ceiling. She was just not responsive, but her eyes were open, but she was definitely in a catatonic state,’ the source explained, adding that if she didn’t get help, she would have died.
Reports That Williams Was Rushed to the Hospital in 2021 Surfaced
More than one year ago, reports surfaced online indicating that Williams had been rushed to a hospital in New York City for a “mental health check.”
According to The Sun, police arrived to Williams’ apartment around 8 a.m. local time on a Wednesday in September 2021.
“There was a call for a 57-year-old non-violent female who needed psychiatric services at that address on Wednesday morning. They were transported to the hospital,” the New York Police Department told The Sun, though the police would not confirm that the woman was Williams.
On the same day, there was an announcement that Williams had tested positive for COVID-19 and had to postpone her talk show, according to CNN.
“To allow Wendy time to quarantine and fully recover and to ensure that our production fully abides by SAG/AFTRA and DGA Covid protocols, we expect to begin the 13th season of The Wendy Williams Show on Monday, October 4th,” the statement read.
READ NEXT: DWTS Cast Member’s Beloved Family Member Laid to Rest