The status of the return of ‘The Wendy Williams Show‘ continues to get more and more muddy as the days go on.
The daytime diva herself, Wendy Williams has been on hiatus since December right before Christmas, after she appeared slurred and out of it during her last live show which featured Hip Hop group, The Lox. Wendy later took to social media to apologize for her “off” behavior which she attributed to the pain medication she was on due to her hairline fracture that occurred that week.
The show has been in re-run mode since then and was originally set to return this week on Monday per a post made from Wendy’s account last Friday. That post was later deleted and replaced with a new post (below) saying that the show would now return NEXT week on Jan. 14.
Well looks like that has now changed as well according to Wendy’s team. The show will still return next week as planned, but Wendy will not be returning until the following week according to Variety.
Williams, who is recovering from an injury she said she suffered last month, will resume taping of “The Wendy Williams Show” Jan. 21, distributor and producer Debmar-Mercury confirmed Wednesday. That’s a week later than the Jan. 14 return date that had been previously announced.
The show, which has been in reruns since Dec. 24, will resume new episodes Jan. 14, but with a panel of “Hot Talkers” serving in the host’s absence.
“As she has for the past 10 years, Wendy delivers an incomparable live talk show day in and day out and we want to give her the best opportunity to heal and recover,” Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein said. “Wendy has our complete and unwavering support and we look forward to her return to the iconic purple chair.”
Williams claimed to have suffered an uper-arm injury in late December. The host missed her Dec. 17 taping, then returned to work the following day, hosting new episodes through the end of that week. After Williams was criticized on social media for odd on-air behavior during her Dec. 20 episode, the host posted a statement on the show’s Instagram revealing that she had suffered “a hairline fracture on my upper arm, which hurts like hell,” and that she had taken medication to manage the pain.
The show began a planned hiatus the following week. That break was extended, however, when the talker issued an announcement via Instagram that Williams would miss her planned Jan. 7 return date. “Wendy Williams will be returning with all-new episodes of The Wendy Williams Show on Monday, January 14, 2019,” the post read. “After fracturing her shoulder, Wendy is on the mend and wants to return pain-free and be 200%, delivering the best show that millions of viewers tune-in to watch.”
Panelists for next week’s shows are expected to be revealed Monday.