Wendy Williams 'only received $82K from Lifetime documentary' after guardian claimed show 'blatantly exploited her dementia'

Wendy Williams 'only received $82,000' from the controversial Lifetime documentary which chronicled her dementia and financial battles, a new complaint has claimed.

Where Is Wendy Williams?, which aired in February, was set to explore Williams' life as she prepared to launch a new podcast- but featured shocking scenes showing the former host drinking vodka in bed, under financial guardianship and having panic attacks - leading to fan backlash against the network.

Now Williams' guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, has filed a new lawsuit claiming the show 'blatantly exploited her dementia' while paying her a measly sum - and alleged the film sought to portray her in a 'demeaning manner' and made the star a 'laughing stock.'

Morrissey filed the complaint on Monday, September 16 in New York Supreme Court against Lifetime's parent company, A&E Television Networks, Lifetime Entertainment Services, EOne Productions, Creature Films and its executive producer Mark Ford, per People.

In February Morrissey initiated a lawsuit aiming to prevent the airing of the 4.5-hour docuseries - but was unsuccessful.

The new 75 page complaint reads: 'As is patently obvious from the very first few minutes of the Program itself, W.W.H. was highly vulnerable and clearly incapable of consenting to being filmed, much less humiliated and exploited. 

'When the Guardian discovered that Defendants’ true intentions were to portray W.W.H.in a highly demeaning and embarrassing manner, she immediately sought to protect and to preserve her dignity. But the defendants fought to move ahead... without a valid contract and released without the Guardian's consent.'

Morrissey alongside noted civil rights litigator Roberta Kaplan  claim the network and defendants 'took advantage of Williams' and say they should pay for her ongoing medical bills and guardianship going forward,

The complaint says: 'Not surprisingly, the public reacted with disgust and revulsion at Defendants’ blatant and vicious exploitation of W.W.H. By willfully taking advantage of a severely impaired, incapacitated person, Defendants have made millions on W.W.H.’s back, while W.W.H. has received a paltry $82,000 from the documentary.'

'This case arises from the brutally calculated, deliberate actions of powerful and cravenly opportunistic media companies working together with a producer to knowingly exploit W.W.H., an acclaimed African-American entertainer who, tragically, suffers from dementia and, as a result, has become cognitively impaired, permanently disabled, and legally incapacitated.

'Eager to sensationalize and profit from W.W.H.’s cognitive and physical decline, Defendants took advantage of W.W.H in the cruelest, most obscene way possible for their own financial gain, in a manner that truly shocks the conscience.'

The complaint alleges the 'defendants not only deliberately destroyed' Williams' 'credibility and image' but did so for money - turning Williams into a 'laughing stock.'

It notes Williams was shown on camera with 'a nearly bald head - which she would have 'never, ever consented and allowed.'

Kaplan Martin LLP and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, attorneys for Wendy Williams’ guardian told People of the defendants: 'Their behavior truly shocks the conscience, and they should not be permitted to profit from her suffering. We are proud to represent her guardian in holding them accountable.'

The suit claims executive producer Mark Ford and his crew were aware of 'Williams' severe and incapacitating cognitive and physical impairments' but insisted on 'filming her anyway.'

Ford has previously claimed at the time of filming, the producers were not made aware of William's frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis.

He has said  'Wendy's attorneys and the guardianship attorneys were consulted and signed off on the project' - but the suit claims that Williams' signature on January 25, 2023 'doesn't appear to be genuine and there is no evidence she signed their contract.'

It reads: 'In all events, W.W.H. was incapacitated and unable to consent at the time the Contract or its amendments were executed, even if she had signed it (which she did not).'

It was claimed that guardian Morrissey was not involved in the documentary or the contract and was not shown a copy of the contract until months after it was  executed. 

Morrissey also alleges the defendants continued to contact Williams after filming ended but that she 'refused to allow further exploitation.'

It was claimed that after filming began, EOne 'with the assistance and input of Defendants Ford, Creature Films, and A&E, eventually drafted a one-sided “on-camera talent agreement” (“the Contract”) in an attempt to legitimize their unsavory and exploitative project,' 

' This agreement was submitted after W.W.H. had already been filmed by Defendants while she was clearly disheveled, not mentally present, and confused. No person who witnessed W.W.H. in these circumstances could possibly have believed that she was capable of consenting to an agreement to film, or to the filming itself.'

The complaint claims the defendants falsely told media that Williams had executive produced the documentary - when Williams had not seen the trailer or series before it aired. 

Morrissey claims she told Will Selby - Williams' manager who was appointed after she became guardian - that she and 'perhaps even the Justice in the Guardianship Proceeding, would need to see and approve the final product before it could air' which allegedly did not happen.

Morrissey claims she told EOne's in-house attorneys that no footage of Williams would be released 'unless an agreement could be reached and approved, which was supposed to portray Williams in a positive light.'

The suit also contains photos that were allegedly sent to Morrissey on set showing Williams looking happy and professionally dressed and styled. 

Morrissey claims she did not give consent for Williams to travels to California for filming or to film with her family members - except her father.  

The suit claims Williams' health is failing - and she is suffering 'cruel, debilitating, and progressive neurogenerative diseases that result in significant and readily apparent behavioral changes and gradually rob their victims of the ability to communicate at all.'

Morrissey wants the show profits to go to Williams and her medical care for the rest of her life.

She also wants to recover the 'unjust profits they received by exploiting W.W.H. in her vulnerable state' and stop A&E from any further airing, sales or release of the documentary. 

DailyMail.com has contacted Lifetime, EOne Productions and Creature Films for comment.

In May executive producers Ford and Erica Hanson revealed their concerns about the TV host's 'dire conditions' under her guardianship during production.

They said they were 'very worried' about Williams’ circumstances, which included the star living alone without any food in her refrigerator, during a panel discussion in Hollywood on Wednesday, per People.

'Towards the end of the documentary, [we] were very, very worried and saying to her management, who was the only other person that was coming into her apartment on a daily basis, 'Something has to be done to help her, this is getting very dire and scary,' Ford explained, per the outlet.

The deeper we got into it, we didn't want to let go of Wendy until we got her back in touch with her family,' he added. 'Because we felt that at a certain point that's who's going to be there for her to care for her.'

In early 2022, Williams was placed under a conservatorship after Wells Fargo froze her accounts due to allegations from her financial adviser at the time, claiming she was of 'unsound mind', according to court filings. 

On February 20, Morrissey initiated a lawsuit aiming to prevent the airing of the 4.5-hour docuseries. She criticized the network's documentary, alleging that it 'shamelessly exploits [Williams] and portrays her in an extremely demeaning and undignified manner.'

'This blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman with a serious medical condition who is beloved by millions within and outside of the African American community is disgusting, and it cannot be allowed,' the legal team for Williams' guardian told the court.

Williams' guardian Morrissey told the court that the talk show host 'did not have the capacity to consent,' according to THR, and producers did not get her consent, as her court-appointed guardian, to produce it.

Williams was misled by producers into thinking that the documentary would be a 'positive and beneficial' project for her public image and reputation, the suit stated.

The televised special on the embattled celeb premiered to strong ratings, as Lifetime touted its best numbers in two years for a nonfiction project.

Among the people listed as its executive producers included Williams, her son Kevin Hunter Jr. and Selby, according to THR.

Footage on the controversial project was taped in conjunction with a January 2023 business deal, the outlet reported, citing the newly-unsealed complaint.

Morrissey said in the legal complaint that Selby had misled her into granting permission to move forward with the project, as it would depict Williams in a positive light 'like a phoenix rising from the ashes' following years of illness that led to her show being cancelled.

Selby conveyed to Morrissey the notion that she and the court would have the ability to stop the documentary from coming out if it was problematic, according to the lawsuit. 

Morrissey said that the arrangements weren't honored, as a preview for the project was put out without her being notified ahead of time.

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, which has been diagnosed by doctors at Weill Cornell,' the lawsuit stated. 

Another point of contention noted in the legal complaint was The Wendy Experience - the name of the company that worked with Entertainment One on the doc - and who was behind its formation, which came after Williams' guardianship commenced.

Morrissey told the court she was not privy to the creation of the company and that the name of the person who signed the contract as the company's CEO was 'not clearly legible,' and 'highly distinguishable from' Williams' signature.

In the contract, Williams 'waived all physician-patient privilege in connection with the filming of the documentary,' the suit said, according to THR.

News of the case was revealed after Williams' caretaker issued a statement February 22 saying that doctors have diagnosed Williams with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.

The health struggles 'have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy's life' and have behavioral and cognitive impacts, according to the statement.

'Wendy is still able to do many things for herself,' the statement attributed to her care team read. 'Most importantly she maintains her trademark sense of humor and is receiving the care she requires to make sure she is protected and that her needs are addressed. She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and good wishes being sent her way.'

Williams' publicist also blasted the Lifetime documentary that she signed her famous TV client up for. Shawn Zanotti placed blame on the producers of the series, alleging the TV icon believed she was filming a program about her comeback - only for filmmakers to capture 'a circus to her downfall.'

Zanotti, who has been working as a publicist for Williams since 2021, spoke with NBC News about her grievances with the making of Where is Wendy Williams?, a four-part documentary now airing on Lifetime. 

In an interview with the outlet, Zanotti claimed: 'I felt that [Williams] was being exploited.'

'She thought we were focusing on the comeback of her career. ... She would be mortified. There's no way you can convince me that she would be OK with looking and seeing herself in that way.'

She also told PEOPLE that she felt 'lied to' about it. 

Despite having encouraged her client to sign up for the show, Zanotti now says: "I would never let Wendy put her name and brand on the line like that ever. She's an icon. It's not the story we signed up for and I feel lied to.'

Adding: 'It's so difficult for me to even watch. Wendy would be mortified.' 

Her remarks come four days too late - the debut episode of the documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams?, premiered on Lifetime on February 24.