The Wendy Williams Show is ending after its 13th season.
The institution will be succeeded by Sherri, a new daytime talk show from Wendy Williams guest host Sherri Shepherd.
In a video statement shared to the official Wendy Williams ShowInstagram on Tuesday, Shepherd shared words of support for “the queen” Wendy and revealed her own series will debut this September.
“No one can replace the queen, nobody,” Shepherd said. “And trust me, I am not trying to at all. It is Wendy’s place to share her story with you but I do wanna give the queen her props and her flowers. … No one can do this format but Wendy. Nobody can sit in a purple chair and sip the tea like Wendy Williams.”
In a statement shared with Deadline on Tuesday, a Williams spokesperson said the once-ubiquitous media personality had been assured by Wendy Williams Show and Sherri distributor Debmar-Mercury that a return to TV is possible in the future.
“She understands why this decision was made from a business point of view, and she has been assured by Debmar-Mercury that should her health get to a point where she can host again and should her desire be that she hosts again that she would be back on TV at that time,” the rep said.
Complex has reached out to a rep for Williams for additional comment and will update this post accordingly.
Debmar-Mercury presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein also expressed an interest in collaborating with Williams again, saying in a statement Tuesday that they “continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery.”
Season 13 of Wendy Williams has been defined by its assortment of guest hosts, Shepherd among them. Earlier this month, Williams was confirmed to be missing the rest of the current season, with ensuing reports at the time speculating that Shepherd could be the possible host of a new show.
