00:00The Wendy we met at that juncture was different than the Wendy we had seen a few years before.
00:13And after having long conversations with our management, they said, listen, that wasn't
00:18Wendy on her best day.
00:19She's going to go get some help, go to a treatment center and come back, and then she's going
00:24to be ready to do this.
00:28We kind of took them at their word and jumped into it and did legal agreements with all
00:33of her lawyers, her management.
00:36It took many months to get a deal done that Wendy signed and Wendy was good with.
00:42And then we sort of jumped in and hired Erica and the team, and they began filming what
00:48became the rest of the film, which was very unexpected, the twists and turns that it took.
00:56I think you can see in the film, we're trying to grapple with what's going on as it's happening
01:01to her and to us, because it wasn't the story we expected or pitched, or what we were expected
01:09to capture.
01:10But I think it ended up being something that is incredibly human, incredibly real and true.
01:18And once her family got involved, it allowed us to take the story in a whole different
01:23direction, which was what happens to a family whose mother is in some way incapacitated
01:29and the guardian is put in charge of her life.
01:31So most of the film that you see in here, she was under, actually the entire time, she
01:36was under illegal guardianship and taken out of her family's care.
01:40So it became important to us to illustrate the danger, frankly, that we believed she
01:45was in, which got more and more serious the longer we filmed.
01:52And I think Erica and her team were incredibly compassionate.
01:55That's why they were hired, because they all had experience with addiction or other mental
02:02health issues in their lives.
02:05And so we tried to create as sensitive a boundary and cushion around Wendy as we could.
02:11And this film took over two years to make.
02:15So it wasn't like, hey, let's go in and just film and slap together.
02:18It was a very stop-and-go, stop-and-go procedure.
02:22And I think Erica could speak a little bit to what it was like kind of on a daily basis
02:26with her.
02:27Yeah.
02:28You know, I came on board this project because I was really interested in what is it like
02:34for a woman in her late 50s to embark on the next chapter of her life.
02:38And then it became very clear.
02:40We were a very small little team.
02:41It was a very intimate little team.
02:44And we all cared so much about telling this story honestly and truthfully and sensitively.
02:50And as Mark said, when we started, it became clear that addiction was still a big issue
02:57for her.
02:58She's always been very open about her issues on her show and her life.
03:03And I also think we saw firsthand the devastating impact of the loneliness and isolation she
03:08had since COVID.
03:11And then as it progressed, and I talked to Wendy.
03:15We talked to Wendy every day when we were filming about what we were doing.
03:19She definitely had opinions.
03:22And I think in the end, we really pulled the curtain back or the veil of what was happening
03:28in her life at this particular time under the care of a court-appointed guardian.
03:33And to be perfectly honest, I was terrified at certain points that she might die in that
03:39apartment because the stairs, she has lymphedema, her drinking.
03:44It was very scary.
03:45There was no food in the apartment.
03:48And I often thought, what would happen if we weren't there?
03:51And she was alone.
03:53She was lonely.
03:54And she loved having the company.
03:56And then we felt it wasn't easy.
03:59It's not an easy film to watch at times.
04:01At times it was very painful to film.
04:03But I think we all wanted to show the truth of what was happening.
04:08And then really work with her manager because the guardian would not speak to me.
04:14I mean, the guardian hung up on me, to be honest.
04:16So it was through Will, who we kept pushing and saying, because we saw a decline, that
04:23something had to happen and change because she needed help.
04:26And then now Wendy's in a safe place.
04:28I sometimes really worry, where would she have been if we weren't there?
04:32But she's in a safe place getting treated.
04:34And I wanted to talk a little bit more about the filming.
04:37We see there's at least, I think, two times you show that you decide to stop rolling the
04:41cameras.
04:43And then each day, you kind of don't know, will she be in a state to be filmed?
04:46Will she not?
04:47How did you decide when to roll the cameras?
04:49How did you decide, this is private, we don't want to show this?
04:53That's a great question.
04:54And honestly, as a little team, we talked about it all the time.
04:57And I think you see in the trailer at the moment when we just thought we were going
05:01to go off and buy some vapes.
05:03And all of a sudden, it spiraled.
05:06And I think that was one of the first moments, I remember talking to you.
05:10And I just felt, along with Michael, my colleague, this was time, it was time to stop.
05:16And I wanted to make sure she went home, that she was safe.
05:19And it was very challenging to navigate at times.
05:22It really was.
05:23And sorry.
05:24No, I was just going to say, and there's obviously a lot that was filmed that never was shown
05:30and never should be shown.
05:31So that was a process also in post-production, where just because we filmed it doesn't
05:36mean the world needs to see this.
05:39So yeah, we had a long time in lifetime where our amazing partners in that and not pushing
05:44us and not asking us to put things in that we didn't think were part of the necessary
05:51arc to tell the story.
05:52And unfortunately, this isn't a happy story.
05:56This is a sad story about someone who's in physical and mental decline, and also in jeopardy,
06:02and is being kind of cared for, quote unquote, by someone that's a stranger to their family.
06:09And that then became the story for us is, how does this happen?
06:15Should this be allowed to happen?
06:18After doing research, in this film, there are many, many thousands of families that
06:23are dealing with exactly the same situation without the resources that Wendy has.
06:28And so it then became important to allow her family to use this platform to talk about
06:33their frustration with the legal system.
06:37And it's also important to state that no one knew.
06:40We did not know that Wendy had dementia moving into this.
06:43We would never have rolled film, Lifetime never would have greenlit it.
06:46No one would have done anything.
06:48We found out she had dementia very, very late in the process when the family revealed that
06:53to us on camera.
06:55And as soon as that happened, we're like, Wendy's done.
06:58But the story isn't done, because the family now wants to have this platform and try to
07:04make a change for themselves, for Wendy, and for others.
07:08And as you mentioned, her family is such a key part in the narrative, the new narrative
07:11that emerges.
07:12Can you talk about getting them on board?
07:14Were they hesitant?
07:15I know her sister, we don't see her until episode four, and she decides to be a part
07:19of it.
07:20Can you talk about your conversations with them?
07:22They were hesitant at first, and it took quite a while, actually.
07:26But I think when Kevin Jr., right, and Alex really became very supportive of it, and honestly,
07:36Kevin Jr., I'm a mom, and it was agonizing for me to see his struggle and how much he
07:43cared for his mom, and how do you deal with a mother who's struggling with addiction,
07:47how powerless you feel, and knowing that something else was wrong, but what was it?
07:52So I think it took them time to feel comfortable with us, and what was the story we wanted
07:57to tell, and we wanted it to be honest, and they wanted it to be honest.
08:02And it was also the only way they could get to see their mother.
08:05Oh, that's true.
08:06They had no access to her in New York, they weren't allowed to fly up and see her.
08:10So by filming, what you see in this film is literally the first time she saw her son in
08:16over eight or nine months.
08:17And her niece, when Alex, that day, Alex was truly so excited to see Wendy, she hadn't
08:23seen her in a year, and then was devastated when she discovered the reality.
08:28All these things were missing from the apartment, this, you know, the role of this publicist,
08:32what was happening to the people that were around her?
08:36And like Wendy says early on, if it can happen to me, it can happen to you, and that really
08:40is the truth of this situation.
08:43And I want to talk about the expert opinion piece as well, because, you know, as a viewer
08:46watching it, I'm thinking the same thing.
08:48She's with her family, why can't they just take her to Florida, or why can't, you know,
08:52they stay with her?
08:53And there is this kind of element, as you mentioned, the guardian is kind of the shadowy
08:57figure.
08:58And I think when we see her with the publicist, it's almost a fear they have of doing things
09:02without, you know, her consent, they kind of let you know the parameters of guardianship
09:07are kind of boundless.
09:08Can you talk about the editorial decision and showing that, and the experts, you know,
09:13that you brought on board?
09:16Digging into the legal aspects of it, it just became essential that because whenever we
09:23asked ourselves about it, I'm like, I really don't know anything about this.
09:26Someone teach us what's going on, how is this possible?
09:30Why is this happening to Wendy?
09:33And so it was really important to find those people that understood the shadowy practices
09:38of how these laws have been passed, and now they're being executed.
09:42We can't, there's no court record of them going in and it's all secret, and you can't
09:49access it.
09:51So we don't even know why, you know, as producers, that Wendy was removed from her family's care
09:56and put into a, you know, a guardian's care, and the guardian won't explain it either.
10:02But from our own research, you know, it didn't seem like there was anything so egregious
10:06that would cause that decision to occur.
10:10And you can also just tell, Wendy's family are very nice, lovely people, and who would
10:15you want taking care of you if you were in this condition?
10:17A stranger?
10:18Or, you know, your sister, your niece, your son, your nephew, you know, all these people
10:24that want to have a role in her family.
10:27So yeah, it was super important for us to draw back the veil on that and like, get into
10:32it as much as we could in the film.
10:34I just wanted to add one thing too, that I still find it incredible that I couldn't imagine
10:39if I were not able, if my child couldn't call me.
10:43Her son, her family can't call her.
10:45They don't know where she is.
10:47She has to call them.
10:49And it's been a year, more than a year.
10:51How is that possible?
10:53You know, how is that possible?
10:54And if now, knowing that she has dementia, then you have decline.
10:58And if you were a 24-year-old, and you care about your mom, I just can't imagine not being
11:03able to go see her.
11:06When we talked about, you know, separately, some of the criticisms, you know, that came
11:09out and people saying, you know, should this have come out?
11:13Was there ever a moment where you thought, we may not put this out?
11:16And ultimately, how did you decide that you would?
11:20There were many moments from the first day on that we thought this probably won't air,
11:26you know.
11:28And the big turning point for us was when her family came on board, you know, and then
11:33started telling us the truth about the situation that Wendy was in.
11:37Because as you can imagine, it was very frustrating for us as producers to be seeing Wendy in
11:42the condition she was in.
11:44But everyone that was around her in her management and, you know, our publicist was basically
11:50saying she's fine.
11:51You know, we're going, she is not fine.
11:54There's something wrong here.
11:55What's wrong with her?
11:56Why won't you tell us?
11:57You must know more than, you know, you're sharing.
12:00And then ultimately, when the family came on board and trusted us, they told us the
12:05truth, you know, of what was going on.
12:08And so that helped us rationalize in some ways, like, this story is bigger than just
12:14Wendy and this family.
12:15This story is about something that is happening in the American legal system that no one knows
12:20anything about.
12:21And this is a way for this to, you know, be addressed.
12:26And the family was adamant that the piece be put out.
12:29By the way, we sat and watched the entire four hours with her family, all the members
12:33of her family, her management watched all four hours of it, you know, and didn't ask
12:38for one change.
12:40So if they had had different reactions and had other thoughts, then I'm sure we would
12:46have reconsidered and thought about addressing those notes.
12:48But they all said this is too important not to share.
12:52Wanda's comment in the trailer, if it, like, if this is the system, it's broken, you know,
12:57and what should I do?
12:58It's my sister.
12:59No, and I was just gonna say, like, Wendy is such an iconoclast, and we, you know, it's
13:04in the film.
13:05And, you know, you can, everyone, we accept everyone's, by the way, judgments on it.
13:09It's not for us to say, whether you feel it's exploitive or not, you know, I think that's
13:14a subjective decision that everyone needs to make for themselves.
13:18But she said, going into this, there are no boundaries, there are no, you know, I'm a
13:22famous person, and my entire career has been based on not respecting celebrities' privacy.
13:28So why would I be any different, you know?
13:30And so, I know that doesn't necessarily rationalize it, but it is very fitting that Wendy Williams
13:35is someone who's willing to show you the truth, warts and all, you know?
13:42I mean, the story is also very much not finished, you know, since this documentary came out,
13:47there's been a lot of questions, where is she still, you know, with her guardianship?
13:51Are there plans for you all to continue to follow her story, or do a larger piece on
13:56guardianship itself?
13:57You know, can you tell me where you might take things?
14:00Certainly no plans currently, right now with Wendy, because I think this story needs to
14:03kind of unfold, and the family needs to have the freedom to do what they need to do, you
14:08know?
14:09And, but I think that piece of the story definitely isn't over.
14:13And look, if Wendy, if there's a happy ending, you know, if there could be a happy ending
14:17to this, we would love to be a part of that.
14:19But that's so far down the road, and not really something we're thinking about.
14:23And the guardianship piece, yeah, I mean, we have a couple projects in development where
14:27we would love to dig deeper into that conversation, and not just in the celebrity realm, but for
14:34real people that are dealing with these issues.
14:37The power is absolute, it's just extraordinary.
14:39And the secrecy, I mean, health and finance, I mean, it's just, I would be terrified if
14:45someone in my family had a court-appointed guardian.
14:47And what did Diane Diamond say, who wrote the book, she's, there's a new book out by
14:50Diane Diamond who's in this, there's this piece that said over 95% of people, once you're
14:56put into a guardianship, you don't get out.
14:59It's very, very difficult to overturn it.
15:03Thank you all for shedding a light on it and sharing your experience with us.
15:06Thank you.
Comments