Talk show host Wendy Williams announced Thursday via a statement on social media that she is canceling any forthcoming appearances due to “ongoing health issues.”
“Wendy is dealing with some ongoing health issues and is undergoing further evaluations,” the Instagram post read. “She will not be able to complete her promotional activities next week, but can’t wait to be back in her purple chair Monday, September 20th for the 13th season premiere.”
While her current health problems are unspecified, the 57-year-old Williams does suffer from Graves’ disease. She shared that she had the autoimmune disorder in 2018 with the help of fans who noted her “bulgy” eyes.
“You caught it before I did,” she told her show’s viewers. “So what I want to say women, more than men, is stop putting everyone first … because if we’re not good, they’re not good.”
About half of the people with Graves’ disease, which results in over-activity of the thyroid, also develop a very peculiar symptom around the eye in which it becomes inflamed and to bulge. The autoimmune disorder can also cause fatigue, anxiety and/or panic attacks, brain fog, perspiration, tremors and more.
In March of 2018, Wendy Williams told People magazine she had actually been diagnosed with the disorder 19 years prior.
She added that her symptoms became more pronounced as she entered menopause, noting she “wasn’t pointing a finger to any particular thing. I was just feeling like ‘All right, well, I’m 53, and this is I guess how it’s supposed to be.'”
Williams fainted live on-air during a Halloween segment, telling People, “Even in October when I passed out on Halloween, that particular day, when the EMTs got there, I had high blood pressure.” She said her blood pressure had never been high before.
“I love doing the show, but I love me more,” said Williams. “So I’m going to take care of me, so I can be there for them.”
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