Daytime talk show host Wendy Williams broke down in tears as she returned to The Wendy Williams Show following a three week break after revealing to the world that she has been suffering with Graves’ disease. Entertainment Tonight reports that Williams was visibly emotional as she returned to her purple chair during the Hot Topics segment of the March 19 show, dabbing her eyes as she thanked fans for the support.
Returning to the series after telling viewers in February that she needed to take an immediate hiatus after being ordered to rest by her doctor, ET reported that Wendy told viewers and her live studio audience on her first day back, “Thank you for missing me. Thank you for not replacing us, thank you for being here today.”
Wendy that began to cry around 20 minutes into the daily daytime talk show, drying her eyes with Q-Tips as her tears began to fall while she discussed her fans and her staff at The Wendy Williams Show , which airs live on weekday mornings from New York.
“Thank you for understanding and being my special people. I do the show but there are hundreds of people who are the show, and they don’t get the credit they deserve,” Williams said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “So, thank you to everyone.”
Williams also revealed on the show that she had undergone a number of medical tests during her break — one week of which was covered by guest co-host Jerry O’Connell — including a brain scan.
“I got a full brain scan,” Wendy said, before adding that “there’s no early Alzheimer’s, dear.”
The star then invited Dr. Oz onto the set to discuss her health problems in more detail, where she began crying again as he discussed her illness.
As the TV doctor spoke about Williams’ Graves’ disease, Wendy began crying and said, “I don’t want to stain my white shirt with black [eye makeup],” before then crediting Oz and a group of other doctors who saw her during her three-week hiatus with saving her life.
As Inquisitr previously reported, Wendy also started crying on the series back in January while discussing her son with guest Brooke Burke-Charvet.
Williams’ time off came less than four months after the talk show host fainted on live TV during the Halloween episode of the series. The star shocked fans as she stumbled backwards and hit the floor while dressed as the Statue of Liberty, but, as reported by USA Today , she explained afterwards that the issue was due to overheating .
A few months later she announced that she would be taking some time away to rest, confirming that she was suffering with Graves’ disease.
People reported that Wendy announced the news on her show in February, telling viewers that the illness had affected her thyroid .
“My doctor has prescribed — are you ready? — as of today, three weeks of vacation,” the mom of one said, adding that she was “pissed” after being told the news.
She then noted that she was putting her health first and urged others to do the same. “What I want to say to women, more than men, is stop putting everyone first because if we’re not good, they’re not good.”