Current:Home > ScamsWendy Williams' guardian tried to block doc to avoid criticism, A&E alleges -Excel Money Vision
Wendy Williams' guardian tried to block doc to avoid criticism, A&E alleges
View
Date:2025-04-20 18:37:00
A&E Television Networks pushed back against Wendy Williams' temporary guardian in court last month, arguing she moved to block "Where Is Wendy Williams?" from airing to "silence" criticism, according to newly unsealed documents.
Sabrina Morrissey, Williams' temporary guardian, filed a lawsuit against A&E in New York County Supreme Court in February, seeking to stop Lifetime's documentary "Where Is Wendy Williams?" from airing. But in court documents that were recently unsealed and obtained by USA TODAY, Rachel Strom, an attorney for A&E Networks, argued Morrissey tried to shut down the documentary only after seeing the way Williams' guardianship was depicted in the trailer.
"Only after seeing the documentary's trailer and realizing her role in Ms. (Williams') life may be criticized did Ms. Morrissey enlist the courts to unconstitutionally silence that criticism," the filing alleged.
USA TODAY has reached out to an attorney for Morrissey for comment.
In a complaint unsealed earlier this month, Morrissey sought a restraining order against the network, alleging that Williams, who in February announced she was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, "was not, and is not, capable of consenting to the terms" of the contract for the documentary.
'Where Is Wendy Williams?':The biggest bombshells from Lifetime's documentary
Williams "did not, and could not, approve the manner in which she was filmed and portrayed in the trailer and documentary," the suit said, alleging the documentary "exploits (Williams') medical condition to portray her in a humiliating, degrading manner and in a false light." The filing also stated that Morrissey was "horrified by the release of the trailer and its contents, which falsely depict (Williams') behavior and demeanor as being the result of intoxication rather than the result of her medical condition."
In its filing, though, A&E's attorney argued Morrissey "took no measures to prevent the documentary's release until she saw the trailer, in which she and the guardianship system appear in a negative light," which "demonstrates that her purpose in seeking this prior restraint is simply to shut down public expression that she does not like."
Wendy Williams'lacked capacity' when she agreed to film Lifetime doc, unsealed filings say
The filing also stated that if Morrissey was "so worried" about Williams being filmed for the documentary, she had "months and months" to intervene. The fact that she did not do so, and "did nothing for nearly a year," is "contrary to the supposed need for emergency relief," A&E argued.
Lifetime, which is owned by A&E Networks, proceeded with airing "Where Is Wendy Williams?" on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 after an appellate judge said blocking it from airing would be an "impermissible prior restraint on speech" in violation of the First Amendment.
Williams was placed under a financial guardianship in 2022 after Wells Fargo alleged she was "incapacitated." Throughout the Lifetime documentary, Williams' family was critical of the guardianship system, arguing her court-appointed guardian is not taking good care of her and that a family member should serve in that role.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY
veryGood! (1261)
Related
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- Alex Jones keeps Infowars for now after judge rejects The Onion’s winning auction bid
- Federal appeals court takes step closer to banning TikTok in US: Here's what to know
- Making a $1B investment in the US? Trump pledges expedited permits — but there are hurdles
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Horoscopes Today, December 11, 2024
- South Korea opposition leader Lee says impeaching Yoon best way to restore order
- Federal appeals court takes step closer to banning TikTok in US: Here's what to know
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- This drug is the 'breakthrough of the year' — and it could mean the end of the HIV epidemic
Ranking
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- How Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Allen Navigate Their Private Romance on Their Turf
- Timothée Chalamet makes an electric Bob Dylan: 'A Complete Unknown' review
- Hougang murder: Victim was mum of 3, moved to Singapore to provide for family
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- Man identifying himself as American Travis Timmerman found in Syria after being freed from prison
- In a First, Arizona’s Attorney General Sues an Industrial Farm Over Its Water Use
- Deadly chocolate factory caused by faulty gas fitting, safety board finds
Recommendation
Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
Federal appeals court takes step closer to banning TikTok in US: Here's what to know
Krispy Kreme's 'Day of the Dozens' offers 12 free doughnuts with purchase: When to get the deal
Mitt Romney’s Senate exit may create a vacuum of vocal, conservative Trump critics
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
'The Later Daters': Cast, how to stream new Michelle Obama
Small plane crashes onto New York highway, killing 1 person and injuring another
PACCAR recalls over 220,000 trucks for safety system issue: See affected models