Television personality Wendy Williams posted a video Wednesday pushing back against her bank, Wells Fargo, for freezing her accounts as it awaits a guardianship ruling in New York.
Williams, whose legal name is Wendy Hunter, spoke to fans on Instagram regarding the ongoing legal battle to gain access to her personal funds. In the video, Williams accuses her former Wells Fargo financial adviser of starting the process after Williams “began asking questions about my money.”
“Lori Schiller and Wells Fargo have this guardianship petition about keeping me away from my money,” Williams said. “This is not right. And, you know, this is not fair.”
She also alleged that Schiller was given access to her medical records from a former doctor, whom Williams said she has since fired, which are being used to justify the guardianship petition.
Williams ended the video by asking, “Please let me have access to my money.”
Wells Fargo on Thursday declined to comment to NBC News on the matter.
In a statement to Variety last month, a representative for Wells Fargo said its priority was Williams’ well-being and “preservation of her privacy.”
“As we have expressed to the Court, Wells Fargo is open to working with Ms. Williams’ counsel to release funds directly to her creditors for bills historically and regularly paid from her accounts,” the statement said.
Schiller did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An attorney representing Wells Fargo requested that the company’s petition be filed under a seal, according to a letter dated Feb. 9 obtained by NBC News. The letter confirmed that Wells Fargo placed a temporary hold on Williams’ account under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, Rule 2165, under the justification that the company suspects Williams is a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”
Williams’ attorney, LaShawn Thomas, denied the accusations that Williams’ physical or mental health have impaired her judgment in a statement last month. Thomas alleged that Wells Fargo also denied access to Williams ‘son de ella, who is her legal power of attorney de ella.
“She has spoken to several bank representatives and has even gone into a local branch and discussed this issue with bank managers, as clear evidence that there are no concerns about her state of mind,” Thomas said at the time. “In fact, Wells Fargo’s alleged suspicions of her were never raised until Wendy made it known that she no longer wanted to bank at Wells Fargo due to the bank’s mishandling of her complaints against her advisor of her.”
In an affidavit dated Feb. 11, Williams alleged that she defaulted on several bills as a result of the account freeze.
Williams has Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disease that causes the body to misidentify certain cells in the body as foreign. It often attacks cells in the eyes and thyroid as a result.
She has also said, in 2019, that she has been diagnosed with lymphedema, a disease that causes swelling in the body caused by a blockage in the lymphatic system, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Williams took a break from her daytime television show, “The Wendy Williams Show,” last year to deal with some of her chronic health issues.
She told ABC’s “Good Morning America” last week that she is ready to work again soon, although her show was canceled earlier this year. A new show hosted by Sherri Shepherd will take over her time slot.
“They say that I need somebody to handle my account. And I don’t want that,” Williams told “GMA.” “I want all my money. I want to see all my money that I’ve worked hard for my entire life. My entire life. I don’t lie, I don’t cheat and I don’t steal. I am an honest, hardworking person.”
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism