Wendy Williams Stuns America: Demands Freedom from Guardianship as 61st Birthday Wish—TV Icon Breaks Silence, Calls Out Legal System, Fans Erupt in Support, Celebrity Allies Join Fight, Social Media Explodes, Family Drama Unleashed, Court Faces Pressure in Explosive Battle for Star’s Independence and Dignity

The former talk show host has been living under a legal guardianship since May 2022 and has been vocal about her desire to end it

Wendy Williams made a surprise appearance at Columbia University on July 1, 2025.Credit : T.JACKSON/BACKGRID

Wendy Williams knows exactly what she wants as she begins a new year.

The former talk show host turned 61 on Friday, July 18, and was out and about in New York City earlier in the week to celebrate.

She went to dinner at Delmonico’s with two of her attorneys and former Wendy Williams Show producer, Suzanne Bass.

Williams had a clear answer on what she wants for her 61st birthday.

As she walked toward the restaurant, Williams was asked by TMZ what she wanted this year for her birthday. Her answer was immediate: to “get out of guardianship.”

Wendy Williams made a surprise appearance at Columbia University to support her friend Mel Max, the nephew of legendary designer Dapper Dan on July 1, 2025.Wendy Williams made a surprise appearance at Columbia University

Williams has been living under a legal guardianship since May 2022 and currently resides in a wellness facility in New York City, but has been vocal about her desire to get out of the arrangement.

In January, she made a series of public pleas for help during several rare interviews as she insisted she is “not cognitively impaired” and feels trapped in “what some people would call a luxury prison” where she has limited access to the outside world.

She has been feeling more optimistic lately about her chances of ending her guardianship.

In April, fans held a rally in support of her efforts to escape her guardianship, and Williams told PEOPLE it was “nice” to see so much support.

“At this point in my life, I can’t trust a lot of people,” she said.

The show of support — there were rallies in both New York City and Los Angeles on April 1 — made her feel confident in her chances of ending the guardianship.

“It will absolutely 1000% happen,” she said.

Despite claims from her guardian, Williams has insisted that she is of sound mind.

In November, Williams’ court-appointed guardian Sabrina E. Morrissey claimed that the former talk show host is “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled and legally incapacitated” in documents obtained by PEOPLE.

In a January interview on The Don Lemon Show, Williams swiftly shut down the idea that she was “incapacitated,” telling Don Lemon, “Hell f—— no.”

Wendy Williams is seen having dessert at Fresco by Scotto on April 11, 2025 in New York City.Michael Simon/Getty

“My life is ridiculous,” she told the former CNN anchor. “I’ve been with this guardian person for three years. For three years of my life… I’m isolated. I feel like I’m in prison. I can’t go out. All I can do is look at the window.”

Her ex-husband just filed a lawsuit — which he claimed was on her behalf — against her guardian.

In June, Kevin Hunter filed a lawsuit against the facilitators of Williams’ guardianship demanding a jury trial and alleging that her constitutional rights have been violated.

Hunter, who Williams was married to from 1999 to 2020, claimed in the complaint that his ex “has been the victim of unrestrained abuse, maltreatment, and fiscal malfeasance” since her guardianship began in 2022. He also alleged that she “was not afforded an independent medical evaluation” before the guardianship was put in place and has since been “subjected to overmedication and undue restrictions.”

Hunter is not seeking an end to Williams’ guardianship, but rather to instate a “new impartial guardian,” release Williams from “involuntary confinement,” and he’s asking for $250 million in relief for financial loss, reputational damage and harm, emotional distress, legal expenses and deprivation of liberty.

However, Williams later told TMZ that she had “no idea” Hunter was filing the lawsuit. She explained, “Nor do I want him to be a part of my life like that, no because I’m divorced forever.”