WENDY Williams will face a judge to fight for her right to hire a new attorney to join her current counsel, Sadatu Salami, as they battle to end her guardianship.
Sources exclusively told The U.S. Sun that Wendy, 60, has zeroed in on one attorney in particular she wants to bring on, but first, she has to make the request in a hearing.
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“There will be a Lincoln hearing to determine if Wendy is mentally capable of hiring her own attorney,” the insider said.
After that, the judge would still have to approve the selection.
The insider added, despite reports that high-powered attorney Joe Tacopina may be brought on, Wendy has decided to go in a different direction after talks with the legal TV personality this past weekend.
As The U.S. Sun previously reported, Wendy said she fired her co-counsel Linda Redlisky after she allegedly failed to file paperwork seeking to end the guardianship, something Sadatu has taken up instead.
Sadatu is a court appointed attorney and has been representing Wendy since the start of her guardianship back in 2022.
The legal eagle has nearly two decades of experience in New York family law.
On Tuesday, Sadatu filed an emergency petition to remove the daytime TV icon from her senior living facility in New York City after she passed a mental evaluation on Monday with flying colors.
Sources close to Wendy exclusively revealed to The U.S. Sun that the former daytime TV star spent the night in a local hospital after being admitted yesterday following a welfare check conducted by the NYPD.
The insider said that the emergency petition filed on Tuesday asked that Wendy be moved to “less restrictive alternative housing.”
Wendy has openly criticized the senior living facility she currently resides in, referring to it as a “luxury prison.”
The legendary TV personality has specifically taken issue with the memory care unit where she is housed, describing it as a locked floor where she is not permitted to leave.
“They attempted to discharge her on Monday night back to the senior facility, but Wendy and her lawyer objected.
The U.S. Sun reported that an Adult Protective Services investigation had been launched into Wendy’s case last week, which ultimately led to her hospitalization on Monday.
ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES INVESTIGATION
Earlier this week, a source told The U.S. Sun that Wendy’s guardian sent her to visit her father in Florida with a credit card that had no available funds.
It remains unclear how this alleged mistake occurred.
“The guardian gave her a credit card with no funds when she went to Miami.
The insider alleged: “During her trip to see her father in Miami last month for his birthday, the credit card given to her by Sabrina was declined and someone else had to pay for her purchases.”
Wendy has been vocal about her discontent with the restrictive guardianship arrangement, repeatedly criticizing the senior living facility where she resides. She has referred to it as a “luxury prison.”
The former host of The Wendy Williams Show has claimed she is being confined in the memory care unit of the facility, alleging that she cannot leave her floor because the elevator requires a key for operation.
EFFORTS TO END THE GUARDIANSHIP
As previously reported by The U.S. Sun, Wendy’s guardianship attorney has formally filed a petition to end the restrictive legal arrangement.
This petition seems to conflict with a recent legal filing by her guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, in the Lifetime case involving the Where Is Wendy Williams? documentary.
Wendy Williams Alcohol-Related Brain Damage, Aphasia & Frontotemporal Dementia Diagnoses
By The U.S. Sun’s Senior Reporter Jessica Finn, who has reported on Wendy Williams for the past seven years.
As The U.S. Sun exclusively reported, Wendy Williams was diagnosed with alcohol-related brain damage in 2019 during a rehab stint in Florida.
An insider explained that a brain scan was done as part of Wendy’s rehab stay in Delray Beach.
A neurologist sat down with the star, her son, and her then-husband, Kevin Hunter Sr.
“The doctor explained to them that Wendy was suffering from alcohol-related brain damage.
“They told her that her alcohol abuse had done permanent damage to the layers in her brain,” the insider said.
“She was warned then and there that if she continued to drink, the damage would only get worse.”
In that meeting, they gave Wendy a devastating prognosis.
The doctors at the rehab foretold of the eventual decline of Wendy’s cognitive abilities, which have become apparent to those who have come in contact with the star in recent years.
“They told her that if she kept drinking she would continue to grow more forgetful, that she wouldn’t remember people’s names, and eventually, she could forget who people even were,” the source said.
After a comment call was sent to Wendy’s team, they released a statement saying Wendy had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia in 2023.
“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances,” the statement read.
In that filing, Sabrina’s legal team stated that Wendy would undergo another evaluation to reassess the guardianship’s scope.
However, the filing concluded with an ominous note: “The Guardian has no intention of pursuing litigation in the highly unlikely event that the new medical examination determines that W.W.H. now has the mental capacity to manage the A&E matter.”
Wendy’s widely popular daytime talk show came to an end after personal struggles caused her to miss its entire final season in 2022.
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