Wendy Williams Legal Battle With Wells Fargo Is Getting Messier
It's the battle of the bank account for Wendy Williams. Over the past few months, the celebrity gossip host has been going back and forth with her bank, Wells Fargo, over who can and cannot control her finances.
But Williams' battle with her bank is not all the talk show star has endured this past year. After revealing she had Graves' disease for years in 2018, the star took a break from her infamous talk show in 2020 after feeling fatigued from her diagnosis, per AP. In her absence, the show brought in guest hosts while Williams was gone. In February 2022, producers of the show announced the fate of her talk show — with Sherri Shepherd taking Williams' place, per the Los Angeles Times.
Yet, amid Williams' ongoing health struggles was when she also learned of her financial issues. At the time, Williams was suspicious of her financial advisor and wanted to stop using Wells Fargo. To change banks, Williams needed her past statements and purchase history. That's when Wells Fargo refused Williams' request for the documents, saying that Williams is an "incapacitated person," and a "victim of undue influence and financial exploitation," per The Hollywood Reporter. And now, despite Williams' fight to get control of her money back, the judge's latest ruling in her case is about to become a hot topic for Williams to fight back on.
A judge has placed a financial guardian over Wendy Williams
Despite Wendy Williams' intention to get control of her money back, that may take longer than expected because on Thursday, May 19, a judge put a financial guardian in place for Williams. After news broke regarding the guardianship, it didn't take long for Williams' legal team to speak out against the ruling.
"Please be advised that Wendy is not in agreement with the appointment of a financial guardian by the court," her attorney, LaShawn Thomas, said, per The Shade Room. "Wendy has been very clear that she does not want a financial guardian to tell her what she can and cannot do with her money," Thomas further explained.
At this time, the guardianship is set to last until July and it is not yet known who will be Williams' financial guardian, per Deadline. But no matter who it is, Williams has had a rocky past with anyone running her finances. Back in March, Williams blasted Bernie Young, her former manager, saying he "used my American Express card" for legal retaliation. Not only that, Lori Schiller, who used to be Williams' financial advisor, reportedly froze the talk show star's bank accounts, saying she was not stable enough to handle her own accounts, per Page Six. Taking to her Instagram account in March, Williams put it simply by saying to her fans, "I want my money" — a sentiment that continues to be true for the embattled talk show host.