With all the expected lights and whistles – save Williams herself – the host’s namesake show came to an end after 14 years with all the expected bells and whistles.
The Wendy Williams Show’s farewell episode on Friday hit all the right notes.
The studio crowd gave a standing ovation to a thank-you to the fans for their unwavering support. The show’s first guest, Vanessa Williams, returned to honor the 57-year-old chatshow host as a true media pioneer. And, to round out the program, comedian Sherri Shepherd played a highlight video of Williams’ finest hits, including keeping her promise to eat actual crow if Kanye and Kim are ever married.
The only thing that was lacking was the actual host.
Of course, after more than 1,500 episodes, the Wendy Williams Show is coming to an end. Overall, the show lasted 14 years and may have lasted much longer if Williams’ health problems and personal and financial turmoil hadn’t seemed to dampen her excitement for shamelessly trafficking in celebrity gossip without regard for whether or not what she was saying was genuine or upset anyone.
Even though she hasn’t hosted the show in person since 2020, Williams’ retirement from daytime is part of a larger shift, not because she couldn’t keep up with the times.
If anything, the former radio shock jock was ahead of his time, influencing the tone and velocity of rumor-mongering as gossip moved from tabloids and TV news magazines to social media.
During the highlight reel, she stated, “This is the best show ever.” “I swear if I wasn’t doing it, I’d be watching it from my couch.” Her vacant chair was one of the last photos in the reel. And there’s a thorny legacy in that void, one that has done as much to glorify gossip journalism as it has to taint it.
The 5ft 10in Williams stood out the most among the clamor of daytime TV sirens. Her booming mouth would almost likely stop casual spectators in their tracks if her dramatic physical presence didn’t.
Williams went all in, inflating tabloid stories, throwing shade at renowned guests, and simply being messy for the pure enjoyment of it, while Ellen Degeneres played nice with guests and The View dug into uncomfortable subjects. Viewers ate it up the harder she batted her artificial eyelids and sipped her tea. Williams’ audience was young and diverse, and she wasn’t only a hit with the normal daytime population.
John Oliver, who famously dedicated a section of Last Week Tonight to Williams enjoying a lamb chop in her kitchen while filming at home during Covid, was one of her most vociferous supporters.
“The more you watch Wendy, the more you realize that chaos isn’t a flaw in the show; that’s what makes it work,” Oliver said before channeling the same energy and eating a sandwich on camera as the credits rolled. “You might want to fuck off and watch something else if this makes you uncomfortable.” Wendy, being Wendy, snorted when this footage was reintroduced into Williams’ show.
Williams never pretended to be anything other than a homebody Jersey girl who would prefer to gossip about a red carpet than turn up on herself as her celebrity grew and her fashion budget grew. Spending an hour with her felt like being within earshot of your mother’s loose-lipped hairstylist, with no way of knowing what bombshell would be dropped next.