‘The View’ Sunny Hostin Says It Is ‘Painful’ to Watch Wendy Williams' Documentary

The documentary Where Is Wendy Williams? revealed the frail side of the seasoned broadcaster Wendy Williams. The moving film chronicles the former media star's battles with alcoholism, financial problems, and deteriorating health brought on by dementia. Tuesday's episode of The View saw a lot of discussion on the subject, and co-host Sunny Hostin expressed remorse for her longtime buddy and said it was "painful" to see her close pal struggle amidst the "throes of addiction."

Hostin said, "I think when someone is going through dementia, being around family members actually can be quite helpful [because] it brings back memories,' before stating that Wendy's family 'want to get closer to her".

As per The UK Mirror, Hostin, a close friend who used to serve as a "legal eagle" on William's radio program, talked about how tough it was to watch the famed writer go through such trying times. "I had the pleasure of getting to know her professionally and also personally so it was very painful for me to watch. And as most of you know I went to see it and watch it with her niece because I wanted to understand what happened to my friend," she said.

"What people should know is she signed this deal to do these three documentaries when she... before she was incapacitated. So this is something she wanted to do. She wanted her family to be involved in it and it was supposed to be a show about her comeback, but she was in the throes of addiction and I think we also need to remember that the pandemic happened, that her husband had an affair, and had a baby with another woman and they got divorced."

Hostin continued further: "We also have to remember that she lost her mother, who was her best friend, so we're seeing a confluence that I think would take anyone out, but she's still standing,' as the live studio audience applauded her. But she is in this guardianship.

Her family clearly loves her. They're saying that she's calling them, they're unable to call her, but she's calling them,' she confirmed, before going on to discuss guardianships and her thoughts on dementia." 

Co-host Joy Behar then inquired the whereabouts of the veteran personality, to which Hostin responded: "They don't know because of the guardianship system and that's to my next point... I think when someone is going through dementia, being around family members actually can be quite helpful [because] it brings back memories,' before stating that Wendy's family 'want to get closer to her. If you watch the documentary please take note of the woman Diane Diamond, she's an expert in guardianship, and she says 90 percent of people in guardianship do not get out of them." "And so that's a system that may be broken and it's a system that maybe we need to look at a little bit more. I just wish all the best and for her and I hope I get to see my friend again," Sunny added.

"There are years of her life she doesn't remember, there are major family events she doesn't remember, and I have a hard time believing that... just for me personally, I would never want her darkest, lowest points to be seen by anyone outside of the closest circle of people who love her. And it was triggering to watch, to be honest. I turned off the final episode because it brought back some painful memories," co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin added as per The Daily Mail, as Behar agreed: "It was not easy to watch, I'll tell you that. A friend of mine who is a drug counselor used to say, 'Addictions trump relationships', and it's true because you want that, whatever it is."  

Fans too expressed their views on X, one viewer tweeted thanking Hostin for the support: "Yes she is still standing Sunny. Thank you for saying that. And we're still standing with you #Wendy." Another fan added: "The Wendy Williams documentary was so damn hard to watch. I pray for her and her son." And a third fan said: "Yes, Sunny wise statement about Wendy."