NEW YORK — Kevin Hunter, the ex-husband of discuss present icon Wendy Williams, has filed a sweeping $250 million federal lawsuit accusing Williams’ court-appointed guardian, the presiding choose, Wells Fargo, and several other others of misconduct, abuse, and monetary exploitation.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this week within the Southern District of New York, names 48 defendants in complete — together with guardian Sabrina Morrissey, New York Supreme Court docket Justice Lisa Sokoloff, the financial institution that froze Williams’ accounts in 2022, and employees on the Manhattan assisted-living facility the place the previous TV host presently resides.
Hunter claims the guardianship, which has managed Williams’ well being and funds since 2022, has robbed her of her freedom, earnings, and well-being, describing the association as “a weapon, not a protect.”
Williams tells TMZ that she had no involvement on this lawsuit and that it’s merely a cash seize.
Claims of Exploitation and Isolation
Based on the criticism, Hunter alleges that Williams — as soon as amongst daytime tv’s highest-paid stars — has been overmedicated, remoted from family and friends, and blocked from making impartial authorized and monetary choices.
The lawsuit additional accuses Morrissey and different defendants of mismanaging Williams’ estimated $80 million property, promoting off belongings with out her consent, and failing to guard her privateness and primary wants. Among the many most emotional allegations: Hunter claims that Williams’ two beloved rescue cats had been secretly bought, depriving her of emotional help whereas below skilled care.
Hunter asserts that the guardianship has price Williams as much as $20 million a 12 months in misplaced earnings and prevented her from pursuing new tasks or managing her profession.
Considerations About Due Course of
The swimsuit additionally raises questions on how the guardianship was imposed within the first place. Hunter contends that no impartial medical analysis was performed earlier than management of Williams’ funds was handed over to a guardian. He alleges that Choose Sokoloff blocked Williams from hiring her personal attorneys to problem the association, additional violating her civil rights.
What Hunter Desires
Relatively than merely dissolving the guardianship outright, Hunter’s lawsuit asks the courtroom to nominate an impartial guardian, unseal all information associated to Williams’ well being and funds, and launch her from involuntary confinement in her present facility.
He’s additionally demanding a full forensic accounting of Williams’ funds, the appointment of himself as her authorized “subsequent good friend” — permitting him to behave in her greatest curiosity — and $250 million in damages for misplaced earnings, reputational hurt, authorized prices, and emotional misery.
Hunter argues that the case underscores the pressing want for guardianship reform nationwide, warning that the system too usually exploits, slightly than protects, weak adults.
Williams’ Ongoing Struggles
Williams, 60, has battled vital well being points lately, together with a analysis of major progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia — a analysis that she and her household have typically disputed.
Since Wells Fargo froze her accounts citing “suspected monetary exploitation” in 2022, Williams has remained below the supervision of a court-appointed guardian whose identification and choices have largely been saved sealed from the general public.
Earlier this 12 months, Williams reportedly handed a competency analysis however stays below guardianship, in response to her household’s statements and up to date courtroom filings.
What Occurs Subsequent
The defendants haven’t but responded publicly to Hunter’s allegations. If the case proceeds, a jury trial might drive uncommon transparency into the secretive world of grownup guardianships — a system that critics say is ripe for abuse and lacks ample oversight.
For now, followers and supporters proceed to precise concern for Williams’ well-being and hope she regains each her well being and her freedom.
