Lifetime producers are pushing back against Wendy Williams’ court-appointed guardian Sabrina Morrissey.
Morrissey is locked in a legal battle with Lifetime over the 2024 documentary, Where is Wendy Williams?
In a new legal filing, obtained by The U.S. Sun, Lifetime and parent company A&E Networks said Morrissey “is misusing her position as a guardian of [Wendy] to silence criticism of her controversial and failed administration of [Wendy’s] guardianship.”
Related: Wendy Williams ‘Incapacitated’ as Dementia Takes Tragic Turn, Guardian Says
Morrissey filed a restraining order on Feb. 20 against A&E Networks to try and stop the film from airing, though the suit was unsuccessful and the documentary premiered on Feb. 24.
In her complaint, the guardian accused A&E Networks of “exploitation,” saying she never consented to Williams taking part in the film, and the TV and radio legend was in no condition to agree to allow cameras to follow her around.
Morrissey filed an amended complaint in September, which named Lifetime, and the film’s producers as defendants.
Lifetime’s latest filing argued that Morrissey wanted to block the documentary’s release because it made her look bad.
The network alleged Morrissey caused Williams harm when she “isolated her from her family, left her largely alone and unattended in her apartment, exacerbated her self-destructive behavior and mental decline, and failed to prevent her use and/or abuse of alcohol.”
Lifetime also claimed Morrissey has been “inhibiting and interfering with the exercise of free speech rights regarding an issue of public concern by [Lifetime].”
The cable network said in court documents that the TV personality’s family members saw the documentary before it aired and they “approved its content and supported its release.”
Related: Wendy Williams Spends Her Days in Bed, Drinking Vodka, Lifetime Documentary Reveals
Williams has been under guardianship since 2022, after Wells Fargo Bank filed a petition to a New York court amid concerns that she was “the victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”
Filming of Where is Wendy Williams? started in August 2022. The network said the documentary was originally going to be about the once vibrant TV personality’s “comeback” and the launch of her podcast after her popular daytime talk show was canceled.
But the focus changed, and instead centered on Williams’ heavy drinking and struggles with mental health. Producers ended production in April 2023, after Williams entered a treatment facility.
Morrissey’s guardianship did raise eyebrows in the docuseries. As previously reported, the film revealed that there was no food in the former talk show host’s refrigerator, yet there were bottles of vodka throughout her home.
Williams has been dealing with several health issues including primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Graves’ disease, thyroid disease, and lymphedema.
Where is Wendy Williams? was produced by Entertainment One (eOne) and Creature Films for Lifetime. Executive producers included Wendy Williams, Kevin Hunter Jr., Will Selby, Tara Long, Mark Ford, Pat Lambert and Erica Hanson, and Brie Miranda Bryant.
Entertainment One and Creature Films, along with its president, Mark Ford, have filed their own suits against Morrissey.
In its complaint, Entertainment One denied allegations that the company short-changed Williams by only paying her $82,000 for the documentary.
The production company said it paid Williams “approximately $400,000 for her participation” via her company, The Wendy Experience, Inc.
