Wendy Williams is going head-to-head with her bank.
The daytime talk show host, who went on an indefinite hiatus from The Wendy Williams Show more than six months ago due to “ongoing medical issues,” has been spending her time away from the spotlight fighting Wells Fargo over control of her finances.
Williams said Wells Fargo has denied her access to her financial assets and statements due to allegations that she’s “of unsound mind,” according to a signed affidavit she submitted to the Supreme Court of the State of New York in February and obtained by E! News.
The TV personality also alleged that by denying her access to the bank accounts, which she said contains “several million dollars,” Wells Fargo is “causing imminent and irreparable financial harm to myself, my family, and my business.”
Now, in an exclusive interview with E! News, Williams’ attorney LaShawn Thomas doubled-down on her claims. While Williams is “able to pay for food and things like that” in her daily life, Thomas said her client still cannot “log into her online accounts and see what’s going on with her assets,” including “what items have been deducted from her accounts.”
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“She’s concerned that this issue has been dragging out for a significant amount of time,” Thomas said. “We certainly did not think that considering the length of the relationship that she’s had with Wells Fargo, that they would draw this out to the extent that they have.”
And though Williams is “in a good spirits” amid the legal battle, Thomas said the Ask Wendy author’s assets “are now currently locked up in this proceeding.”
Wells Fargo said it placed a temporary hold on Williams’ accounts as the company suspects she is a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation,” according to a letter filed to the court in February and obtained by NBC News.
Since then, the bank has filed a guardianship petition for the appointment of an overseer of Williams’ assets—something Thomas exclusively told E! News she believes is “a ploy to keep whatever has been going on with these accounts away from Wendy.”
“Wells Fargo has ensured that this case stayed out of the media,” Thomas claimed. “I think that Wendy wants her fans to that keep up the pressure to keep asking the hard questions.”
E! News has reached out to Wells Fargo for comment but did not hear back.
In February, a spokesperson for the bank told E! News in a statement, “Wells Fargo’s priority is the financial well-being of Ms. Williams and the 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.”
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