Friday’s farewell edition of the Wendy Williams Show hit all the expected notes.
“This is the best show ever,” she said at one point in the highlight reel. “I swear if I wasn’t here doing it, I’d be at home watching.” One of the last shots in the reel was. And in that void lingers a tricky legacy that did as much to burnish gossip journalism as tarnish it. Even as her profile rose and her fashion budget increased, Williams never made herself out to be anything other than a homebody Jersey girl who would rather dish about a red carpet than turn up on one herself. Spending an hour with her was like being within earshot of your mom’s loose-lipped hair stylist, never knowing what bombshell would drop next.
In a 2003 on-air exchange with Whitney Houston, Williams did not hesitate to grill the legendary singer about allegations of drug abuse, domestic violence and financial issues, and Houston didn’t back down from the fight. But Williams didn’t shy from talking about her own struggles with drug addiction or her problems conceiving or her plastic surgeries or her dalliances with well-known music industry types either, even as her radio shows went national.
That Show belonged in the Hoods !