The Truth About Leah Remini Taking Over For Wendy Williams
"The Wendy Williams Show" is finally making its return for Season 13, but this time without Wendy Williams. Representatives for the daytime talk show took to Instagram to announce to fans Wendy Williams would not be returning for the first week of Season 13 of the program.
The talk show with all the hot gossip (or topics, we should say) was expected to return back in September, but was delayed twice due to Williams' health condition. As they say in the business, "the show must go on" — even if it means a new face takes over.
On Instagram, the talk show revealed that Williams was "experiencing serious complications as a direct result of Graves' disease and her thyroid condition." (Williams first shared with fans her Graves' disease diagnosis back in 2018, when the host had to take her first of three extended breaks from her show, according to Yahoo!). "Wendy continues to be under medical supervision and meets with her medical team on a daily basis," continued the statement. "We want her health to be her top priority. As soon as she's ready, she will be back in her treasured purple chair." Back in 2018, the talk-show host opened up about her health to People magazine, telling the outlet, "I love doing the show, but I love me more. So I'm going to take care of me, so I can be there for them."
But who will take over for Williams for the time being?
Leah Remini is set to replace Wendy Williams — for a week
While Wendy Williams takes her leave from her eponymous talk show, there is already a "lineup of guest hosts and panels" ready to take over for a bit.
In the meantime, Page Six reports Leah Remini will guest host, creating "a spin on [Williams'] signature Hot Topics'" segment. The actor is expected to fill in Tuesday through Friday for the first week of the new season, with a panel of hosts stepping in for the big premiere on October 18. "Wendy's shoes are hard to fill, so we needed to find the right fit," executive producer David Perler told Page Six. "Leah will bring a lot of fun and energy to our viewers with a few surprises along the way."
While fans wish Williams well, sources claimed to the outlet that the show's production company is possibly looking to replace "The Wendy Williams Show" altogether — with Nick Cannon's new self-titled daytime talk-show — though the Instagram statement claims that the host is "valued and stalwart member of the Debmar-Mercury family."
Remini is no stranger to television screen, making her mark as an actor on hit sitcom "King of Queens" and reverting to talk-show host on the first season of "The Talk." Remini seems to be the perfect temporary replacement for Williams, given her blunt hot takes that once forced Remini off "The Talk" back in 2011. At the time, the actor claimed her and Holly Robinson Peete's "ghetto" behavior bothered fellow co-host Sharon Osbourne enough to get Remini kicked off. Luckily for Remini, for a program like "The Wendy Williams Show," authentic opinion is the name of the game.