More Turbulent Times at The Wendy Williams TV Show

The Wendy Williams Show has had its fair share of scandals and news coverage in the past few years, but what will be the fate of the show in days to come? The line between the TV show itself and the complicated personal life of Ms. Williams continues to be blurred and is wreaking havoc on ratings, advertisers, TV executives and its confused TV show fans.

Wendy Williams is regularly in the news, but often for the wrong reasons

It appears that the latest trouble all started on the Halloween show in 2017 when Wendy Williams collapsed on screen wearing her lady liberty costume, during the audience participation segment of her show. Williams began slurring her words, then eventually falling hard to the ground. This forced the quick-thinking TV production team to cut to a commercial break. Wendy later returned back on screen to say that the heat of the costume had caused her to faint. But, was this really the reason or were there other issues that the host was dealing with?

Wendy Williams Illness Diagnosed

The long-standing host has openly talked about the illness that she suffers from. On one of her daytime show airings, Wendy announced that she had been diagnosed with Graves’ disease. This rare condition is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system incorrectly identifies the thyroid gland as a foreign organ; which can cause problems with vision and may have been the real reason why Ms. Williams collapsed live on television. Not long after announcing her illness, Wendy shared more about her personal life during the “hot topics” segment of her show. She told the audience that she had been living in a sober living home, to help her with her excessive alcohol consumption. She also admitted to having a round-the-clock sobriety coach to help her stay on track.

Breaks From The Show

Between the announcement of her illness and the announcement of her sober living home, Wendy took many breaks from the show. Various celebrity guests filled in for her while she was away. In her absence the ratings of the show suffered, particularly in 2018 when a 7% decline in the show’s ratings was reported. In spite of this, when Wendy returned back to the show in March of 2019, there was a surge of 32% in the show’s ratings. This suggests that the audience is loyal to the Wendy Williams personality, rather than the show as a whole. Perhaps the reason behind the show's popularity is just that, throughout the years TV audiences have come to fall in love with the host. And the fans of this show are no different wanting to follow the ups and downs of Ms. Williams' personal life, rather than the show itself.

The ups and downs of Wendy Williams personal life did not end with her stay at the sober living home. In April of 2019, Ms. Williams was again the “hot topic” of her own show. Williams announced that she had shockingly filed for divorce from her long-time husband of twenty years. This major news again put her in the hot seat drawing her fans back in wanting to hear all about it. Thus further confirming that this really is The Wendy Williams Show as she is the hottest topic. She is the focal point and all of the details about her personal life is what the audience is really tuning in to see.

Howard Stern Feud

Aside from the divorce, health issues and sobriety, Wendy Williams has also been dealing with an ongoing feud with her long-standing friend Howard Stern. Using The Wendy Williams Show as a platform, Wendy accused Howard Stern of “becoming too Hollywood” in his latest book, which he did not take kindly. The feud resulted in some back and forth between Howard and herself on her show and on his own popular radio talk show. But, it seems that in recent days they are coming to an understanding of the comment which was apparently not made with the intention of starting a dispute. Howard Stern has been reported to say that he “Regrets the feud and should not have retaliated in the way that he did.”

Wendy’s Son Arrested

The latest scandal to hit the life of Wendy Williams is the arrest of her son Kevin Jr.,which happened in the early hours of Wednesday morning 5/23/19. In the fracas, a fight broke out between Kevin Jr. and his Father Kevin Hunter reportedly over the fact that the senior of the two had got another woman pregnant. The police later arrested Kevin Jr and charged him with simple assault. This matter was not discussed on the “hot topic” segment on Williams show that aired the same day.

All the scandals and ups and downs in the life of Wendy Williams are usually featured in the show that leads to one main question. Would the show survive without the host and her ongoing dramas? It appears, the people who are actually watching the show are truly invested in her life. Right from the get go, the bold host with her take-no-prisoners approach to celebrity gossip was able to build a huge fan base with a combined following of over 5 million followers on various social media platforms. The TV show also averages 1.4 million viewers per episode. This fanbase continues to tune in wanting to learn more about the life of Wendy Williams. It is as though, over these many years she has built an extended family, and as long as she continues sharing personal stories with the audience, they will continue to tune in.

Demographic Changes

In the light of the recent decline in cable subscribers, who actually has access to The Wendy Williams Show on TV? The main demographic of viewers has historically been the 25 - 49 female who craves a little gossip. This style, mixed with strategically placed advertising of mommy and baby friendly items has kept the stay at home moms truly entertained. However, as the Baby Boomer generation ages, so does the demographic, increasing the viewing age to 45-65. If current trends continue, daytime TV may no longer be the best way to reach the target audience of 25-49 females. With cord-cutters now on the rise again, this TV show could be left in the dust that collects in those old style TV sets destined for the knackers yard.