Wendy Williams’ attorney, Joe Tacopina, has vowed to sue everyone responsible for placing the former daytime talk show host under a court-ordered guardianship. The announcement came during a public appearance at a New York City restaurant, where Williams was celebrating her 61st birthday.
A Birthday with a Statement
While dining at Fresco by Scotto with her legal team and former show producers, Tacopina delivered a fiery statement. “It’s sickening how easy it was to put her under guardianship,” he said to TMZ reporters. He described the effort to end the arrangement as “despicably slow.”
“If the court denies our motion, we’re going to sue the people responsible for this,” Tacopina declared. He confirmed that a jury trial would follow a denial, marking a shift in his strategy to wrest control from the current guardianship system.
Guardianship Under Fire
Williams has been under legal guardianship since May 2022, a measure prompted by Wells Fargo’s concerns about her mental competency and alleged financial exploitation. Despite diagnoses of primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia in 2023, Williams has repeatedly insisted she remains mentally fit and capable.
During an interview in January, Williams refuted claims of cognitive impairment. She said the guardianship “is emotional abuse” and compared it to imprisonment. Her niece, Alex Finnie, backed her claim, noting Wendy “sounds great” and does not match the description of “an incapacitated person.”
In mid-June, her ex-husband Kevin Hunter filed a $250 million federal lawsuit, accusing the guardian and the presiding judge of misusing their power. That suit alleged isolation, overmedication, and financial exploitation—and demanded a jury trial as well. Williams has since stated she had no knowledge of Hunter’s legal action.
A Call for Independence
Celebrating her birthday, Williams expressed her desire to be free. She told close friends, “I just want to get out of guardianship.” She appeared in good spirits as she enjoyed a lavish meal of seafood, caviar, Caesar salad, filet mignon, followed by a grand baked Alaska birthday cake. Guests said she “looked amazing.”
Tacopina underscored that with a jury deciding the case, Williams’ liberty could finally be restored. He believes that her “normal self—the same person you watched on TV”—will be enough to convince jurors to end the guardianship.