NEW YORK (PIX11) — Wendy Williams will be appealing her conservatorship after a new diagnosis revealed she does not have frontotemporal dementia, a source told PIX11 News.
Williams has been in a legal guardianship since 2022 and was previously diagnosed with the disease in 2023. In November 2024, Williams was deemed “permanently incapacitated” due to the dementia, according to court filings obtained by The U.S. Sun.
A source close to Williams told PIX11 News that the new diagnosis of not having frontotemporal dementia is true and that she and her legal team will be appealing the conservatorship.
Frontotemporal dementia is caused by damage to neurons in the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes, which can cause “unusual behaviors, emotional problems, trouble communicating, difficulty with work or difficulty with walking,” according to the National Institute of Health.
In April, fans of the former TV host in Los Angeles and New York City protested, chanting “We want Wendy free today!” as they were calling for the conservatorship to end.
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Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist at NYU Langone who is not treating Williams, said, “You often end up saying someone has possible or probable FTD, so there’s always an element or margin of error of making the diagnosis, because there are other conditions that can mimic or look like FTD. So often times having to differentiate between Alzheimer’s disease and FTD is a clinical question that will come up. Sometimes someone might have an underlying medical issue that may be confused for FTD.”
The attorney who is serving as Williams’ court-appointed guardian did not respond to a PIX 11 request for comment.
Spencer Gustafson is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered New York state and city news since 2023. See more of his work here.
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