10 Memorable Moments From ‘The Wendy Williams Show’

It’s been two years since The Wendy Williams Show officially wrapped its run.

The syndicated series aired its final show — without host Wendy Williams, who has been out of commission with various health issues for months, on June 17, 2022. Wendy guest host Sherri Shepherd took over the time slot with a new talk show, simply titled Sherri.

Ever since the talk show ended, Williams has become a bit of a recluse due to ongoing health conditions, and her time away from the screen is set to be explored in Lifetime’s upcoming two-part documentary.

Here are some Wendy Williams Show moments from the show’s 13-year run we still can’t get over. Many were offensive, some were moving, and one was somehow both frightening and funny — if we have the, ahem, liberty to say so.

When she said Beyoncé “can’t talk”

In December 2012, Williams said she would be watching Beyoncé Knowles’ then-upcoming TV documentary, Life Is But a Dream, with closed captioning. “So I’ll be able to understand what she says,” she explained. “You know Beyoncé can’t talk. She sounds like she has a-fifth grade education.”

When she cried over her son not liking her

A discussion of Madonna and her son Rocco in January 2014 led to Williams telling her audience about her heartbreak over her son, Kevin. “What I discovered this weekend is that my son doesn’t like me anymore,” she said. “I discovered this a while ago, but the ball got smacked home this weekend … He’s the one who’s 13 and I get it … but it is breaking my heart.”

When she made transphobic comments about Caitlyn Jenner

In an October 2016 episode, Williams made anti-transgender comments about Caitlyn Jenner’s transition—comments that are not worth repeating here. (Just bear in mind what GLAAD explains: that only some transgender people opt to transition medically, and being transgender is not dependent on one taking hormones or undergoing surgery.)

When she passed out live on air

Bet you didn’t know the Statue of Liberty once collapsed! That would be Williams, dressed up as Lady Liberty, getting overheated and fainting during a Halloween 2017 installment of her talk show.

When she got emotional talking about her time in a sober house

“For some time now, and even today and beyond, I have been living in a sober house,” Williams said in a March 2019 episode, opening up about her treatment for substance abuse. “I go to several meetings all around town in the Tri-State area, and I see my brothers and sisters caught up in their addiction and looking for help.”

When she came for men in skirts and heels

Williams offered a teary-eyed apology on Twitter after a February 2020 episode in which she criticized gay men who wear dresses or heels.“I don’t care if you’re gay,” she said on the show. “You can do a lot that we do, but I get offended by the idea that we go through something you will never go through. And stop wearing our skirts and our heels. Just sayin’, girls. What do we have for ourselves?”

When she made a joke about Amie Harwick’s death

Days later, after Amie Harwick, ex-fiancée of The Price Is Right host Drew Carey, died from an apparent push from a third-floor balcony, Williams cited the Price Is Right catchphrase “Come on down!” and mimicked watching someone fall from a height.

When she added fuel to the Ellen DeGeneres flames

In May 2021, as Ellen DeGeneres announced the end of her daytime talk show months after allegations of toxic working conditions made headlines, Williams certainly had a lot to say. “Nineteen years on TV doesn’t change your life. It exposes you for who you really are,” she said on The Wendy Williams. “I was a guest. I was unhappy.”

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When she said “death to all of them” about Britney Spears’ parents

Even Williams looked surprised by herself when she concluded her June 2021 comments about Britney Spears’ conservatorship drama with a call for the death of the pop star’s parents. “How dare you, Mr. Spears. You had me fooled,” Williams said. “And you too, Mrs. Spears. Death to all of them!” (That last line was edited out of the YouTube upload of the same episode, per Insider.)

Wendy Goes off On Cell Phone Interruption

It made headlines when, during an episode of the show, an audience member’s phone went off, alarming Williams. She then rudely kicked them out and told them to turn the phone off. The audience’s reaction made Williams immediately pull back and straighten her tone, instead opting to “politely” kick her out of the audience instead.

Where Is Wendy Williams?, February 24 and 25, 8/7c, Lifetime