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Wendy Williams, 59, is diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and speech-affecting aphasia - the same condition as Bruce Willis - amid health battle
Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia, it was confirmed Thursday.
The care team for the 59-year-old former host of The Wendy Williams Show announced her new diagnosis in a press release.
They said Williams had undergone 'a battery of medical tests' before arriving at the diagnosis, which comes days ahead of the release of her Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, which details her struggles with alcohol abuse and mental health in recent years.
The diagnoses are notably the same as the ones film legend Bruce Willis received in 2022 and 2023.
The statement noted that Williams had been diagnosed back in 2023. The talk show host, who was famous for spreading gossip — and often making her own — has reportedly been living in a treatment facility since April 2023.
Wendy Williams, 59, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, her care team revealed on Thursday in a press release; pictured in 2019 in New York City
Her sister, niece and brother recently revealed that they did not know where Williams — who can only be visited by a court-appointed guardian — has been staying, and they can allegedly only speak to her via phone if she chooses to call them first.
Williams has previously shared her battles with the autoimmune disorder Graves' disease and Lymphedema, a build-up of fluid in the tissues that can lead to swelling of the legs — which the gossip monger has dealt with — and the arms.
Graves' disease can cause the thyroid to become overactive, and around 30 percent of suffers will display bulging eyes.
The care team noted that they were sharing the diagnosis at this time as her fans had become concerned in recent years about 'Wendy's ability to process information,' leading many to speculate 'about Wendy's condition, particularly when she began to lose words, act erratically at times, and have difficulty understanding financial transactions.'
In announcing the diagnoses, they added that aphasia is a 'condition affecting language and communication abilities.'
The condition affects around one million Americans, while 180,000 are diagnosed with it each year.
Aphasia can be caused by head injuries, as well as by tumors or strokes, as well as more gradual brain deterioration.
The condition can have varying degrees of severity, and it's unclear how affected Williams is by the condition, as she has not been seen in almost a year.
The talk show host, who was famous for spreading gossip — and often making her own — has reportedly been living in a treatment facility since April 2023
Williams has previously shared her battles with the autoimmune disorder Graves disease and Lymphedema; pictured in February 2023 in NYC
Aphasia affects one's ability to speak, write, read and comprehend speech, while frontotemporal dementia is a related condition involving damage to neurons in the frontal or temporal lobes; pictured in February 2020
Affected individuals have difficulty both with speaking and with comprehending words, and it can also make it difficult or impossible for them to read.
Sufferers can also display personality changes that can be disturbing or even alienating to friends and family members.
Her condition was described as progressive, meaning that she will continue to deteriorate over time.
Frontotemporal dementia also has a key relationship with speech and word recognition.
The condition, which is also described as frontotemporal disorders (FTD), occurs when neurons are damaged in either the brain's frontal lobe, temporal lobe, or both.
It is often accompanied by aphasia, and affected individuals have difficulty with language and comprehension skills.
FTD can also cause a person to have difficulty moving their limbs. Memory loss can occur over time and with more severe cases, but it is generally not as pronounced as for individuals with Alzheimer's disease.
Williams falls squarely within the most-common age range for developing frontotemporal dementia, as most suffers will develop it between 45 and 65, though people can still develop the condition later in life.
Williams' upcoming Lifetime doc Where Is Wendy Williams?, which she is an EP on, features scenes of her appearing to have difficulty communicating, as well as displaying memory problems; seen in February 2023 in NYC
'Unfortunately, many individuals diagnosed with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia face stigma and misunderstanding, particularly when they begin to exhibit behavioral changes but have not yet received a diagnosis,' her care team wrote.
The health news comes just two days before Williams was set to appear in the Lifetime documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, which she executive produced.
The two-part documentary filmed her from August 2022 to April 2023, when Williams entered the treatment facility where she remains to this day.
Trailers and advance clips from the film show Williams at what should be the opportunity for a career revival — as she prepared to launch a podcast shortly after the cancellation of The Wendy Williams Show — but instead it appears to have documented her struggles with alcohol abuse, as well as her increasing cognitive difficulties.
One clip featured in a trailer shows Williams saying she doesn't recognize any of the buildings she's being driven past.
The documentary also includes a scene in which she asks her driver to go past her old TV studio — despite having had him drive by it just minutes earlier — according to People.
'I don’t know what the hell is going on,' her driver admits for the cameras. 'I think she’s losing memory. She doesn’t know who I am sometimes.'
The news also puts a darker spin on a seemingly sweet moment in the documentary featuring Blac Chyna, 35.
In a clip obtained Thursday by People, Williams takes the rare step of removing her wig for a heart-to-heart conversation with Chyna.
Williams was seen with friend Blac Chyna in her upcoming doc, but she appeared to not understand Chyna and responded with a non sequitur; pictured in the Where Is Wendy Williams trailer
After Chyna thanked Williams for mentoring her and treating her like a mother, Williams bizarrely replied, ''Well my real name is Wendy Hunter,' using her married name; seen together in 2019 in West Hollywood
The former partner of Rob Kardashian confessed that she had been 'recently changing my life' since the two last spoke, and she attributed the positive changes to Wendy's mentorship.
'You've always been honest with me and put me in my place in the most motherly, kind way,' the former partner of Rob Kardashian confessed. 'Because even when I was going through my darkest times, you never used that against me.
'And that's how you know that the love is genuine, and it's always gonna be there,' she continued, adding that she would always 'be there' for Wendy.
'You can call my phone whenever. I'm so serious,' Chyna (real name: Angela Renée White) said. 'And I think I'm gonna be back and forth from New York, so I'm gonna see you more.'
But Wendy's concerning response didn't make it clear if she had heard or understood anything Chyna had said.
'Well my real name is Wendy Hunter,' the talk show host confessed, using her married name.
She had been married to her second husband, Kevin Hunter, from 1999 until 2020, when they divorced after he fathered a child with another woman.
Chyna repeated Wendy's last name as if to take in the information.
'Yup! And I'm divorced,' Wendy continued. 'He's got no money.'
Chyna followed along with affirmative statements after each of Wendy's statements, though the smile she previously displayed was wiped from her face.
Chyna wiped away any tension by declaring, 'I love you,' as she appeared to tear up.
'So do I,' Wendy whispered as a soft smile spread across her face, before Chyna leaned over on the couch to give her a hug.
'Yup! And I'm divorced,' Wendy continued. 'He's got no money.' Chyna stopped smile but changed subjects when she said 'I love you' and hugged Wendy
After taking extended break from The Wendy Williams Show in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Williams appeared on the series for the final time in 2021.
She did not reappear on the show, and its final season aired through June 2022 with a variety of guest hosts covering for Williams prior to the series' cancellation.
Williams currently has a court-appointed guardian who has been overseeing both her finances and her healthcare.
The former talk show host is reportedly seen in her upcoming documentary accusing her guardian — whose name has not been revealed — of stealing her money, though the filmmakers told People that she never provided any evidence to back up the claim.
Aphasia, the brain condition suffered by Bruce Willis, can leave a person unable to communicate
The world learned on Wednesday that Hollywood legend Bruce Willis, 67, would retire due to his diagnosis of aphasia, a potentially devastating condition that causes a person to lose communication skills.
Willis' family announced that the condition would cause the Die Hard star to step away 'from the career that has meant so much to him.'
Around one million Americans suffer from the condition, the National Institutes of Health reports, and around 180,000 people are diagnosed with it every year.
It can manifest itself in multiple ways, and is often either the result of a head injury, a stroke, a tumor or other brain deterioration.
Aphasia can be devastating as well, with experts saying it causes depression in over a third of cases, can lead to personality shifts and can even alienate friends and family from the affected person.
Other famous examples of aphasia include former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke.
'Imagine being dropped in a country where you do not speak the language - cannot understand, read, write or speak. It would impact all of your interactions - this is what it is like to have aphasia,' Darlene Williamson, president of the aphasia association, told DailyMail.com.
While it is impossible to say for Willis in particular how drastically the condition has effected him and his behavior, Williamson reports that it can often be devastating for patients.
'The consequences of living with a language impairment can alter someone's behavior and outlook on life,' Williamson said.
'Approximately 35 percent of individuals with aphasia experience some depression.'
The cause of the condition, which is often some sort of traumatic brain injury or a stroke, can lead to massive personality shifts.
'[Aphasia is] difficulty with language that comes about from some kind of injury to the brain. The most common source is stroke… but it could come from any other type of damage,’ Dr Brenda Rapp, a cognitive scientist at Johns Hopkins University, told DailyMail.com.
Certain infections that impact the brain's language centers can cause aphasia to form as well, along with cognitive decline and deterioration associated with dementia.
The condition can make it very hard for an actor like Willis to continue in his career, as just the process of speaking out lines can become a challenge.
'It would surely be difficult,' Williamson said about attempting to continue acting while afflicted with the condition.
'Aphasia affects comprehension of language, speaking, as well as reading and writing. There are varying levels of severity which would be another determining factor. It may not be impossible, but acting would require extra accommodations.'
Dr Rapp said that despite communication failures caused by the condition, people who suffer the condition still have the same thoughts, and are internally the same person. While the experience can be alienating, loved ones should remember that the person has not changed. Pictured: Willis with family and friends after a 'roast' event in 2018
There are four common types of aphasia that make up a vast majority of cases: fluent - often called Wernicke's; non-fluent - known as Broca's; anomic; and Primary Progressive Aphasia.
Rapp explained that there are different forms of the condition because each represents a different type of breakdown in the process of communication.
Whether it is the ability to translate thoughts into proper words, the ability to physically say words, or the ability to interpret and understand speech from others, each part of communication is a complex process, and even slight brain damage can cause issue.
While the condition does cause communication failures, Rapp notes that the person themselves is still the same.
Their thoughts, beliefs and feeling towards their loved ones remain, even if it can be frustrating and alienating for both the aphasia patient and those around them to deal with this condition.
Willis' family did not reveal what type he was facing, or how severe of a case he had, or what was the root cause found for the condition.
According to the Stroke Association, a UK based group, those who suffer Wernicke's aphasia have the ability to string together long sentences of words, but will often say things in a way that they do not make sense, or even use made up words.
They will also suffer from impaired reading and writing ability, and may have trouble understanding clear verbal communication towards them.
One example used by Rapp is that a person may misunderstand the sentence 'John kicked the dog'.
Dr Brenda Rapp, a cognitive scientist at Johns Hopkins University, explains that aphasia is often caused by a stroke, and can manifest itself in many different ways
While the average person would clearly understand who kicked who in that scenario, a person dealing with this type of the condition may struggle to figure out whether John or the dog was the person that did the kicking.
Broca's aphasia will often cause a person to forget words or put together a proper string of words even when their brain can fully understand what they want to say.
A person suffering from this type of the condition will often use simple, short, sentences to get across speech as they are unable to properly say what they want to at times.
The Stroke Association says that these sentences will often be of around four words or less.
A person suffering from Broca's aphasia will also struggle with writing, but their reading ability is left unaffected.
Someone suffering from anomic aphasia may suffer to find specific verbs and nouns that they need to get their point across, and will speak very vaguely.
This may also translate into their writing, where they will just not be able to generate the correct words necessary to say what they would like to say.
Primary Progressive Aphasia aphasia damages a person's ability to communicate in virtually every single way.
A person suffering from this version of the condition will have trouble speaking, reading and writing.
Their ability to process and understand someone that is speaking to them is damaged as well.
Doctors can often detect aphasia via either an MRI or CT scan, and will be able to pinpoint the exact part of the brain that is causing the issue.
There is no way to fix or cure the condition entirely, but patients will often undergo speech therapy to help rebuild their language skills.
‘There’s not a lot of progress [with medication for the condition]… the treatment for aphasia is speech therapy,' Rapp said.
She noted that in some cases a person may undergo electric stimulation therapy alongside speech therapy in order to 'get the most' out of the experience.
Williamson said that 'strong family support is a critical piece of living successfully with aphasia.'
It is not always permanent, though, and how long it lasts and how severe it is often depends on how bad the damage to the brain is.
Stroke victims in particular that suffer aphasia can regain their speech, and often within only a few weeks.