WASHINGTON — After delaying the season premiere of "The Wendy Williams Show" due to the talk show host's health, the show announced it will return with fill-in hosts for now.
The daytime talk show's 13th season will kick off on Monday, Oct. 18, and episodes will be led by guest hosts and panels, but no names have been officially announced by Wednesday.
Wendy Williams has been "experiencing serious complications as a direct result of Graves’ Disease and her thyroid condition," according to a statement posted on the show's Instagram page.
The statement explained that while Williams has been making progress, it's been determined that she needs more time "before she is able to return to her live hosting duties."
"Wendy is a valued and stalwart member of the Debmar-Mercury family and has been so for 12 years. We want her health to be her top priority. As soon as she's ready, she will be back in her treasured purple chair," the statement said.
Last month, the show announced Williams had also tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19, which initially pushed back the start of the 13th season into early October.
In 2018, Williams announced that she had Graves’ disease, which leads to the overproduction of thyroid hormones and can cause wide-ranging symptoms and affect overall health. Her show stopped production for three weeks at that time.
In March 2020, Williams again took some time off to receive treatment. Her show at the time had been taping remotely from her home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
