Wendy Williams Doc Producers Open Up About Rocky Experience
Producers of the Where Is Wendy Williams? Lifetime documentary are speaking out about their experience filming. Interacting with Wendy on a daily basis for a little over a year was deeply emotional for the individuals involved in the project. At times, producers had to ask if it was appropriate to keep the cameras rolling. Continue reading to see what Mark Ford and others involved with filming the docuseries had to say about the rocky experience.
Filming The Lifetime Documentary Kept Wendy Williams Going
Producer Mark Ford said, “At a certain point, we were more worried about what would happen if we stopped filming than if we continued.” At one point while filming, it became clear that the cameras gave Wendy a reason to get up in the morning. She was happy to see them every day that they showed up.
“Wendy loved it when the cameras came to the door, it gave her a reason to get up in the morning. I think you see that,” Ford told The Hollywood Reporter.
Image: YouTube/Lifetime
He continued, “We ultimately knew that we have the control and we can just not air this if it can’t be moved into a positive, redeeming direction for her where we can help Wendy and hopefully other people.” Ford revealed that the revelation regarding the reason behind the docuseries became evident much later in the process of filming.
Eventually, the production team hoped to reach thousands of families in America who might be going through the same thing. The only difference between them and Wendy is that they don’t have a huge platform to gain attention. Overall, it became important to share Wendy’s story and what can happen to someone who is placed under court-appointed guardianship.
Producers Didn’t Want Wendy’s Suffering To Be ‘In Vain’
Ford said that the family and the producers were all left wondering, “‘Shouldn’t there be somebody here more often? Shouldn’t there be somebody filling a refrigerator and checking in on her on a daily basis?’ None of those things were happening.”
Despite attempts to contact Wendy’s guardian throughout the filming process, producers were unable to reach her. Wendy Williams’ manager, Will Selby, handled what little communication there was between Sabrina Morrissey (guardian) and the Lifetime crew. Anytime they tried to reach out they were either hung up on or spoken to in an unpleasant manner.
Like any other project, there were difficult days. Ford shared that there is a plethora of footage that will never be seen by the public. Unfortunately, Wendy Williams didn’t get to view the project before it aired either.
Image: YouTube/Lifetime
Normally, they would have wanted to show Wendy the docuseries before it went out on Lifetime. However, filming wrapped the day they showed up and Wendy was no longer there. She was placed in a care facility and the team was no longer given access to her. That being said, Ford said that Wendy and her manager both weighed in on what they wanted filmed and what they didn’t.
Many people have questioned whether or not the documentary is exploitative of Wendy Williams’ situation. Just two days before the doc aired on Lifetime her care team released news of her official diagnosis. If it was known that Wendy had dementia, cameras may have never rolled. At the same time, documenting the journey made it so that all of the suffering wasn’t for nothing.
“Dementia is an insidious disease, right? It’s tricky,” Ford said. “You’re not really sure what’s going on. So, you’re able to see this journey of discovery across these four hours and I do hope people stick with it to the end, because then you’ll see what the intention ultimately became, which was that Wendy’s suffering and the family’s suffering is not in vain.”
Where Is Wendy Williams? debuted on February 24 on Lifetime. The four-part series will run again on Friday, March 1 on the network at 8 p.m. EST.
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