Wendy Williams thrived on daytime TV as an entertainment industry outsider

Variety

Tuesday's announcement that The Wendy Williams Show was being canceled due to the ongoing health issues that have sidelined Williams this season is disappointing because she forged a unique connection with viewers, says Daniel D'Addario. "It’s unfortunate to imagine any person with a connection to their audience being denied the opportunity to at least say goodbye on their own terms, says D'Addario. He adds that Williams not being close to the entertainment industry "made her tone a vibrant corrective to the cloying sweetness across the airwaves. Williams called things as she saw them, but she was no nihilist. Indeed, she was suffused with warmth and affection — for her audience, at least. She had a sort of tacit deal with viewers: She’d let her audience in on exactly what she thought of things as long as they rolled with her lapses — moments of oddity or misstatements or not finding the exact right way to phrase things, but pushing on through."

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• Wendy Williams' rep questions the source of the recent Instagram posts featuring her: "I'm not honestly convinced of the source of that social media post, so when my old friend Wendy FaceTimes me personally and we alone have a chance to discuss recent events, together we can figure out the best path forward," spokesperson Howard Bragman said in a statement to People.
• Andy Cohen pays tribute to Williams on Watch What Happens Live