Wendy Williams’ Friends Are ‘Concerned’ For Her Well-Being After Sherri Shepherd Show Announcement

UPDATE 4:30 PM PST: Following a lot of speculation and crossed wires in the New York PR world, Wendy’s publicist released a stern statement to both the press and the public, reiterating that Wendy’s focus right now is on her health, and also:

“The focus right now should not be on the public shaming of Wendy Williams or the production company making a decision from ‘a business point of view.. It should be on uplifting her while she is going through a very human experience. So, please send prayers and positivity to Wendy and her legal team who have bigger fish to fry!”

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Friends are worried about Wendy Williams’ health after the bombshell announcement that Sherri Shepherd would be taking over The Wendy Williams Show time slot.

Following months of serious health struggles, the 57-year-old host was suddenly “blindsided” by the news from producers this week that the popular daytime television show would be coming to an end after its 13th season and replaced by a new show called Sherri. Now, those close to Wendy are concerned that the host – who is with her 21-year-old son in Florida – is not taking care of herself after losing the show. A longtime pal told Page Six on Saturday:

“Wendy is missing her medical appointments down in Florida. People are very worried about Wendy and her wellbeing … We want to get Wendy back to New York City to get her back on track.”

As you know, the former radio DJ took a break from her purple chair after dealing with multiple health problems since last July, including complications from Graves’ disease, a breakthrough case of COVID-19, and mental health concerns. These issues resulted in the show’s current season being pushed back before the network opted to bring in a rotating list of guest stars. Eventually, Shepherd was named as the permanent guest host. Well, that is until Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, the co-presidents of the show’s production company Debmar-Mercury, decided to promote the 54-year-old actress! Let us just say that Wendy is not too happy about the decision!

Another insider from the show told the outlet that the mom is extremely upset by being quickly replaced with Shepherd:

“A lot of people are concerned about Wendy right now, but it seems like things are getting worse. Wendy is pissed right now. You have to understand her talk show was pretty much all she had. It was her passion, so now what?”

Her supposed reaction doesn’t surprise us too much! Sources previously told The Sun this week that Wendy felt “disrespected” by the move – especially with the way it was announced:

“Sherri’s show was announced on The Wendy Williams Show, with Wendy’s audience and with all of her followers. Wendy has 2.6million subscribers on her YouTube alone. That’s Wendy’s YouTube! She built that following, not Sherri, not the production company.”

Understandable! The insider continued:

“It was bad enough they canceled her show and gave Sherri her own daytime talk show which is set to take over Wendy’s time slot. It was a total slap in the face for it to be announced on Wendy’s show and her platforms.”

We’re wishing Wendy nothing but the best after all of this! What are your thoughts on Sherri taking over the show? Do you think Wendy will return to television in the future? Sound OFF with all of your thoughts on the matter in the comments (below).

[Image via WENN, Sherri Shepherd/Instagram]