Wendy Williams has dementia diagnosis
Wendy Williams has been dealing with more difficult news about her mental and physical health, with representatives for the talk-show host announcing Thursday that she has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia as well as aphasia.
Doctors in fact concluded that her recent struggles were due to frontotemporal dementia, a group of neurodegenerative disorders that can affect behavior, personality, language and movement, her representatives said in a statement, Page Six reported.
FTD occurs when nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain are lost, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Actor Bruce Willis also was diagnosed with FTD in 2023, with his family calling it a “cruel disease” that has no cure. They also said that it is the most common form of dementia for people under 60.
Williams, 59, was diagnosed after she underwent a battery of tests in 2023 when her memory started to fail and she began to “lose words” and “act erratically,” the statement said Thursday. Her representatives said they are releasing news of her diagnosis because the former “Wendy Williams Show” host “has been open with the public about her medical struggles with Graves' Disease and Lymphedema as well as other significant challenges related to her health.”
“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 continued.
The statement also assured Williams' fans that the former shock jock is “still able to do many things for herself” and has maintained her “trademark sense of humor.” Williams is living in an undisclosed treatment center, with news of her diagnosis coming ahead of this weekend's release of Lifetime's documentary “Where Is Wendy Williams?”