The Wendy Williams Show Just Got More Bad News
"The Wendy Williams Show" just can't seem to catch a break right now. As the world knows by now, Wendy Williams has been absent from her own show ever since she was originally scheduled to return back in September 2021, with the show initially hinting her time off could only be for a few weeks.
It was first announced that Williams would be sitting out a few shows due to her Graves' Disease, though an Instagram post on September 15 confirmed she then experienced a breakthrough case of COVID-19 for which she had to go into isolation.
Her return was then scheduled for shortly after, but was pushed back again, before Williams herself offered an update on how she was doing on November 8. At that time, Williams claimed via the show's Instagram that she was "making progress but it's just one of those things that's taking longer than we expected" and suggested she had every intention of returning to the show. "I'm doing everything I can to get back to work, but right now Wendy has to focus on Wendy," she wrote. The following month, Williams was spotted leaving a Wellness Center.
But, as of January, Williams was still not back on the show after a slew of co-hosts stepped in to take over her hosting duties. And now it's one of her stand-ins that got hit with some bad news of their own.
Michael Rappaport's diagnosis
It was sad news for actor Michael Rappaport, as the former "Friends" actor was forced to pull out of guest hosting "The Wendy Williams Show" after testing positive for COVID-19. Alongside a video posted to Rappaport's Instagram and reshared to the talk show's official Instagram account, the actor wrote in the caption, "My CORONA face! Unfortunately, I got Corona, I'm fine so far. I had to pull out of @wendyshow but I'll be back." He then added, "Stay Safe Stay Sane & Keep Your Head on a Swivel."
In the video, which started by showing the star smiling, Rappaport explained that he would not be hosting the gossipy show for the rest of the week as planned. "I'm really, really disappointed for many, many, many reasons. Obviously, I'm fine and I'll be all right," he said. Rappaport was scheduled to host new episodes until January 14, according to People, with a re-run hosted by Leah Remini and Michelle Visage airing on January 12.
The talk show's brushes with the virus haven't only affected its hosts though. It was confirmed in December 2021 that new episodes for 2022 would be pushed back a week due to a rise of cases in New York City, where the show is filmed. The series confirmed via Instagram that the new premiere date would be January 10 in order to "ensure a safe return for [its] crew members and staff."