Wendy Williams, in Breakfast Club interview, says she 'not cognitively impaired'

Wendy Williams is opening up in her first live interview since a bombshell Lifetime documentary gave a peek into her life after her frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.

The former talk show host, 60, called into the Breakfast Club Thursday morning with guest host Loren LoRosa, and fixtures DJ Envy and Charlamagne Tha God — Charlamagne co-hosted "The Wendy Williams Experience" radio show with Williams in the 2000s.

Charlamagne said Williams was calling into the show because she was "trapped in a conservatorship" and could not leave where she was located.

"I am not cognitively impaired. But I feel like I am in prison," Williams said. "I'm in this place where the people are in their 90s and their 80s and their 70s. There's something wrong with these people here on this floor."

Wendy Williams is 'permanently incapacitated' amid dementia battle, guardian reveals

Williams added: "This system is broken," and that her treatment amounts to "emotional abuse."

Wendy Williams' niece backs her up

Williams and her niece Alex Finnie, who was also on the call, said the facility is high security. And because her guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, has her previous phone, she can only make calls, meaning no one can call her. "They won't allow you to leave or have visitors," she said. "So you can't even leave and take a walk if you wanted to, or take a trip or visit family members."

"That's been the reality since 2023," Finnie said, calling the living arrangements a "luxury prison."

"She's there every day, all hours of the day, every week, every month, she's not getting proper sunlight," Finnie continued. "I went to New York in October to visit her. And the level of security and the level of questions that there were in terms of, 'Who am I? Why am I here? What's the purpose?' I mean, it was absolutely just horrible."

In addition to her phone being taken away, Williams said she cannot make purchases and has to have someone get everything for her. The former "Wendy Williams Show" host said she also recently learned that her two "twin" cats had been given away and that she has gotten pushback when trying to pick her own doctors.

Williams added that she wants to visit her 94-year-old father for his birthday in February but is afraid her guardian will not allow her to go. "At 94, the day after that is not promised," she said, crying.

Finnie affirmed that she believes Morrissey may retaliate due to what was being said in the interview.

"I said, 'You know, we do this, you're ready for what's on the other side?' And as she said, 'I have to do this. There's nothing else I could do at this point,'" Williams' niece said. "She's prepared for the fact that her phone might taken away. What you're hearing now is a few minute clip of what we've been dealing with for the last several months and the last two, three years."

Finnie said the family was not allowed to see her during the airing of her Lifetime documentary, "Where is Wendy Williams?" and did not know where she was. She said the family is fearful she may be moved without notice or ability to contact her.

"My aunt sounds great," Finnie said. "I've seen her in a very limited capacity, but I've seen her. We're talking to her. This does not match an incapacitated person."

Morrissey stated in a November court filing that the TV host had become "cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated." The filing is part of a lawsuit against A+E Networks over the Lifetime documentary, in which Morrissey has alleged Williams was not capable of consenting to be filmed for the documentary.

In a counterclaim from A&E Television Networks and Lifetime Entertainment Services, the companies also allege that Morrissey's lawsuit against them was prompted by the desire to protect her own image.

"It was only when Morrissey realized that the Documentary would question the quality of her own guardianship of (Williams) that Morrissey suddenly decided to try to ensure the Documentary would never be released," the document stated.

The companies also said in their counterclaim that their docuseries showed how Williams' guardianship "isolated her from her family, left her largely alone and unattended in her apartment, exacerbated her self-destructive behavior and mental decline, and failed to prevent (Williams') use and/or abuse of alcohol."

Wendy Williams' niece advocates for conservatorship reform

Finnie was critical of Williams' guardian and the guardianship system at large.

"(Williams) hasn't had, from what I understand, a medical evaluation to see if her rights can be restored," Finnie said. "And it seems as though that instead of this guardian, Sabrina, working with her, it seems like she's made it difficult every which way for my aunt to be able to live any sort of healthy, independent life."

She added: "I'm not asking for a whole lot. All I'm saying is just treat the woman with dignity. And give her the freedoms that she deserves."

She called the conservatorship system a "shame" and encouraged fans of Williams to "make noise" in support.

"There is a lack of scrutiny across the board, we know there's a lack of funding. There are too few guardians for the amount of people under the system," Finnie said. "And as a result, a lot of things go unchecked. There's a lot of neglect, as well as obviously, financial exploitation of some of the most vulnerable people. That's the reality. And my aunt is one of those people."

Williams was last spotted out and about in August for the first time since her private legal and medical issues became public in early 2024.

Wendy Williams breaks silence on Diddy: 'It's just so horrible'

Williams' representatives said in February that she was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in 2023. In a follow-up statement to USA TODAY at the time, they said Williams is "able to do many things for herself" and was involved in the selection process for her care team.

Contributing: Edward Segarra and Charles Trepany

This story has been updated to include additional information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wendy Williams on Breakfast Club: TV host provides update on health