Lifetime's 'Where Is Wendy Williams?' Producer Speaks Out After Documentary Release, Explains Motivation Behind the Project
A producer who worked on Lifetime‘s Where is Wendy Williams? documentary is speaking out.
The two-part project aired on Saturday (February 24) and Sunday (February 25), almost immediately following the Wendy Williams‘ aphasia and dementia diagnosis.
Ahead of the documentary’s premiere Wendy‘s guardian Sabrina Morrissey filed a lawsuit against the channel’s parent company A&E attempting to stop it from airing. The request was dismissed by a judge.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, producer Mark Ford explained his team’s motivation behind filming and releasing Where is Wendy Williams?
Keep reading to find out more…
Mark explained the original concept of the film.
“It was supposed to be a documentary that would follow her journey back into her career doing a podcast. We thought it was a great idea, and we were hopeful that Wendy’s story would be redeeming and we’d be able to document this journey,” he said. “But as we filmed, it became evident that this wasn’t really going to be a career comeback story, that this was going to be a deeper story, and that there was something ultimately disturbing going on in Wendy’s life.”
Mark then described how their plans were altered due to Wendy‘s alcohol addiction and subsequent treatment.
“She was sober and on a better trajectory. And there were conversations and plans for the podcast, and there were people being put in place to produce that podcast, and that was a storyline that we were following. But it was derailed because of what we now know was the state of Wendy’s dementia.”
Filming of the documentary began in August 2022. At that point, there was already much speculation about the state of Wendy‘s health. In spite of that reality, Mark revealed why the team continued to shoot.
“It was tough every single day, and there were conversations that we had, all of us, throughout the documentary,” he stated. “And there was no guarantee we would air this documentary if we weren’t happy with the content that we ultimately got and the editorial direction that we landed upon, which was the family’s point of view and illustrating what can happen when one of your family members is put into a guardianship outside of your control. We just happened to be there every day seeing the reality of this situation, and we just put the camera on it and captured it. There was no intention.”
Mark also noted that he and the other producers felt a great purpose in creating their documentary and hoped it would help Wendy.
“She loves the camera, and she became very close with our producers,” he shared. “There was a real emotional connection that the project gave her, and honestly, it got to a point where we were more worried about what would happen to Wendy if we stopped filming then if we continued. Because we ultimately knew that we have the control and we can just not air this if it can’t be moved into a positive, redeeming direction for her where we can help Wendy and hopefully other people.”
If you missed it, find out what Wendy Williams‘ son had to say about her aphasia and dementia diagnosis.