Wendy Williams’ brother Tommy insists she’s ‘better than ever’ despite dementia battle & begs fans for $80k on GoFundMe

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WENDY Williams' brother Tommy Williams has insisted the troubled star is "better than ever" despite her battle with dementia.

In an exclusive video interview with The U.S. Sun, Tommy, 57, claimed that his famous sister's health has completely turned around.

Wendy Williams' brother and a woman posing for a photo.

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In an exclusive video interview with The U.S. Sun Tommy Williams claimed his former talk show host sister Wendy Williams is better than she was before her health strugglesCredit: Facebook/Thomas Williams

GoFundMe page for Wendy Williams, showing her brother Tommy and her photo, with $50 raised of an $80,000 goal.

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Tommy launched a GoFundMe on January 19 for the star, though their niece Alex Finnie had launched one days earlierCredit: GoFundMe

Claiming Wendy, 60, has improved since the hard-to-watch Where is Wendy Williams? documentary, Tommy said she's done "a complete 180."

"She's doing great. She looks great, she sounds fantastic, beyond."

Tommy insisted Wendy now sounds even better than she did before her health problems began.

"Beyond even the old Wendy, she sounds beyond. You know why? Because she has several heaps full of patience," he explained to The U.S. Sun.

Tommy then went on to explain how difficult and humbling his family's experience has been since she was placed in a medical facility in New York, under a guardianship helmed by court-appointed guardian Sabrina Morrissey. 

Tommy explained that the family has been unable to pick up the phone and call Wendy, and must wait for her to call them. 

"Within the family, it's a very humbling experience, because we just can't call, can't reach out, can't say what's on our minds at the moment, and being stripped of that right, that ability, is difficult.

Tommy said the change in their communication with the star has made him more aware of what he says when he finally does have the chance to speak with her.

"It'll have you check yourself and make sure that you know when you do have the opportunity to speak, you make sure you form your words correctly, because the last thing I'm trying to do is have any conflict within family."

COMPETING FAMILY FUNDRAISERS

Tommy launched his own GoFundMe page on January 19, seeking to raise $80,000 from Wendy's fans to "Support Wendy Williams' fight for freedom."

A GoFundMe by Wendy's niece Alex Finnie has already been launched on January 15.

Wendy's niece claimed to have used some of the funds raised thus far on to pay a retainer for an attorney to fight for Wendy in guardianship court. 

According to the fundraiser page launched by Tommy, which is competing with his niece's, the money will "serve as a purpose to create awareness of the freedom that my sister Wendy Williams should be entitled to and deserves on all levels."

His fundraiser's description continues: "As an effort to ensure that Wendy has some type of financial foundation, your donation will gladly be accepted."

Tommy's fundraiser has raised $50, whereas Alex's has raised nearly $38,000 out of a $50,000 goal as of this post.

Before his GoFundMe, Tommy launched a line of Free Wendy merchandise, including mugs and tee-shirts.

FREE FROM GUARDIANSHIP?

Tommy said that he doesn't believe Wendy's guardianship is permanent. 

"It's always been deemed as a temporary...We know it's not today, and, quite frankly, I'm really suspect for tomorrow, but we're faithful people, and we keep the faith.

"My interpretation is it's not forever, and that's a good interpretation."

Tommy also said while Wendy is in her New York facility, she is working out regularly.

"She does have a routine that she does. It's not one for me to speak on at the moment, I talked to Wendy about what she does, but I don't want to go through that.

"It's a pretty regular routine that everybody can kind of do, you know, we could stretch and exercise and do things without equipment."

DON LEMON'S WENDY INTERVIEW

Earlier this week on the Hollywood Raw Podcast, Don Lemon spoke about his interview with his friend Wendy.

Don told hosts Dax Holt and Adam Glynn: "I think she wants people to know about her situation. I think Wendy wants to be freed. She's very transparent in what she said. She said she feels like she's in prison."

Don explained a bit more about what Wendy said during their interview on Thursday, January 16, which echoed the sentiments the former TV host told Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club.

"I am not cognitively impaired," Wendy told her former radio co-host Charlamagne that God on The Breakfast Club.

Wendy Williams Alcohol-Related Brain Damage, Aphasia & Frontotemporal Dementia Diagnoses

By The U.S. Sun's Senior Reporter Jessica Finn, who has reported on Wendy Williams for the past seven years.

As The U.S. Sun exclusively reported, Wendy Williams was diagnosed with alcohol-related brain damage in 2019 during a rehab stint in Florida.

An insider explained that a brain scan was done as part of Wendy's rehab stay in Delray Beach.

A neurologist sat down with the star, her son, and her then-husband, Kevin Hunter Sr.

"The doctor explained to them that Wendy was suffering from alcohol-related brain damage.

"They told her that her alcohol abuse had done permanent damage to the layers in her brain," the insider said.

"She was warned then and there that if she continued to drink, the damage would only get worse."

In that meeting, they gave Wendy a devastating prognosis.

The doctors at the rehab foretold of the eventual decline of Wendy's cognitive abilities, which have become apparent to those who have come in contact with the star in recent years.

"They told her that if she kept drinking she would continue to grow more forgetful, that she wouldn't remember people's names, and eventually, she could forget who people even were," the source said.

After a comment call was sent to Wendy's team, they released a statement saying Wendy had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia in 2023.

“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances," the statement read.

"You know what I'm saying? But I feel like I am in prison.

"I'm in this place where the people are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s.

"For the last three years, I have been caught up in the system. This has been three years. I'm caught up in this system."

She burst into tears on the phone call, and accused the guardian of "emotional abuse."

Wendy lost her wildly popular eponymous talk show, The Wendy Williams Show, in 2022 after having been absent for the entirety of the final season.

Headshot of Tommy Williams.

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Tommy spoke exclusively with The U.S. Sun about how his famous sister is doing in guardianship in New YorkCredit: The U.S. Sun

GoFundMe page for Wendy Williams' fight for independence.

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Wendy's niece Alex Finnie launched a GoFundMe days before Tommy launched his competing fundraiserCredit: GoFundMe

Wendy Williams appearing emotional on her show.

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Wendy's show was wildly popular, but saw its conclusion after the host was absent for the entire final seasonCredit: The Wendy Williams Show / Fox
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