>> jimmy: ebon moss-bachrach, everybody. thank you to selena gomez. apologies to matt damon. we ran out of time for him. "nightline" is next thank you for watching, we'll see you on monday, good night. this is "nightline." >> byron: tonight, wendy williams. the former daytime tv host's devastating dementia diagnosis. >> i knew that every cylinder is not firing the way it should. >> andrew: her family breaking their silence ahead of a new jarring lifetime documentary revealing williams' fits of anger, drinking, and erratic behavior. >> my real name is wendy hunter. >> hunter?

>> andrew: the 11th-hour lawsuit filed by her guardian stirring up controversy just days before the premiere. >> some people are going to look at this and say, she's being exploited. how could they do this? >> andrew: plus phone scams. >> i was scared and uncertain. and they were extremely authoritative. >> andrew: a finance columnist falling prey, handing over $50,000 cash in a shoebox to criminals. >> he knew my social security number, he knew the names of my family members. >> andrew: sophisticated scams on the rise, even affecting celebrities like andy cohen. how you can avoid becoming their next victim. ♪ every time it rains manna from heaven ♪ >> andrew: rod stewart's "pennies from heaven." new music from the legendary artist. st longer. say hello to your fairy godmother alice and long-lasting gain scent beads.

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for all that is me, for all that is you. kaiser permanente. ♪ good evening and thank you for joining us. i'm phil lipof. tonight we hear directly from the family of famed talk show host wendy williams whose confrontational, take no prisoners interview style won her legions of fans. today marks one year since wendy has been seen in public, and behind the scenes, mounting health issues and a court-appointed guardian controlling williams' finances, future, and even, according to her family, who's allowed to

speak to her. here's abc's deborah roberts. >> deborah: so there's the wendy you knew -- >> how you doing? how you doing? hi! >> deborah: and there's the wendy we're going to see in this documentary. >> my real name is wendy hunter. >> deborah: it's not a very pretty sight. >> it's not. >> deborah: to see her go from that to that, for you as somebody who looked up to her, what's that like for you? >> hard. i think that people are going to see this documentary, and it's going to be a departure from the wendy that everybody has known. >> deborah: alex phinney, the niece and goddaughter of talk show icon wendy williams, speaking out about her aunt's private struggle. >> i feel like i've been living in this secret bubble for a very long time. >> deborah: most people know wendy as the larger than life self-proclaimed queen of all media, host of her namesake daytime talk show, "the wendy williams show."

no celebrity off limits during her scorch are scorching hot topics. >> mariah, i don't know who you think you're fooling with this one. >> deborah: but a new lifetime documentary, "where is wendy williams?" revealing the different wendy family and those closest to her knew in the years following the cancelation of her television show. lifetime's parent company now the target of a lawsuit days before the documentary's premiere on saturday. the company telling abc news in a statement, "lifetime appeared in court today in the documentary, where is wendy williams, will air this weekend as planned." >> did you see a newer at? >> to find out if i'm crazy? uh-huh. >> deborah: in it, viewers will see a shocking portrait of wendy as a lonely, agitated woman. >> i have no friends. you know how many people come out to support you? >> no, i don't. >> you are bigger than this. you are better than this. you are smarter than this. you are stronger than this.

>> deborah: facing low moments, including excessive drinking. >> did you drink this whole thing today? >> deborah: fits of anger. >> go, drive! i have no idea where we are. >> deborah: bouts of incoherence. >> i think she's losing memory. have you guys noticed that? >> how dare him. >> with my aunt, some of the issues being presented in this documentary have been there before. but it just really sped up over the last two years or so. and just mushroomed into something that felt uncontrollable. she definitely cognitively has some things that are off. >> deborah: the 59-year-old now revealing through her care team she has been diagnosed with primary aggressive aphasia, a form of front totem posteriorly dementia, ftd. the team saying the decision to share her diagnosis was not only to advocate for understanding and compassion but to raise awareness about the disease and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances.

>> toronto temporal dementia tends to affect younger people in their 40s to 60s. it's pretty rare. it affects behavior, decision-making, personality, impulse control. it also affects communication skills. most patients will have a mixture of behavioral and language systems. >> deborah: bruce willis, an action star famous for the "die hard" franchise, also diagnosed with aphasia in 2022 and later ftd in 2023, forcing him to step away from his career in hollywood. >> i have to really get in both bruce willis and wendy williams, a huge amount of credit. what they have each done has been open about something that is not a glamorous diagnosis. these are not easy symptoms to talk about. for them to open up that discussion and allow people to learn about this disease is such a gift, and it's so important. >> reporter: alex sat down with me to talk about the documentary just before her aunt's diagnosis

was made public. your aunt is known for her sizzling hot top picks. there are probably some people who don't feel the most sympathetic toward her right now. is that hard for you, hard for her, to think some people think the woman who went after other people is now dealing with her own hot topic? >> i don't think it's hard for my aunt. she knows the bed she made and you have to lie in it when it comes to the court of public opinion and she's used to that. everybody is entitled to their opinion. at the end of the day, she is a person. she doesn't deserve to be suffering the way that she's been suffering. >> deborah: the documentary project initially setting out to capture wendy williams' career comeback. >> showtime. >> deborah: instead, a appearing to chronicle her cognitive decline. >> it is heartbreaking. >> deborah: some people are going to say, this is exploitation, she's being

exploited, how could they do this? what do you say to that? >> i understand some people think that. i will say this, first and foremost. my aunt is the executive producer of this documentary. and when i finally talked with her and i said to her, "aunt wendy, why do you want to do this this" she said, "now is the perfect time because i want to take ownership of my story." >> deborah: but does she have the capacity to take ownership of her story? does she really know what she's doing? in your view? >> i think that it comes in waves. and even in the conversations that i would have with her, right, like that conversation was crystal clear when i said, "why are you doing this?" and she said, "i want to tell my story." that conversation was crystal clear. >> deborah: owning her story was been part of wendy's brand. >> when i was 6 years old, all i

wanted was to be famous. >> deborah: the proud jersey girl going on to become a towering, often controversial figure in the world of hip-hop and r&b radio. >> denial is a river in egypt. your husband is gay. >> by the time wendy williams really has kind of risen to the cream of the crop in new york radio, there were some celebrities who were very bold enough to go and sit across from her. >> deborah: one of them, the late whitney houston. wendy herself in recovery for cocaine use pressing houston about her alleged drug use in 2003. >> is there drug use going on at this present time? >> who are you talking to? don't talk so me about that [ bleep ]. >> you're very defensive. >> i have to be, you talk about me every [ bleep ] day. >> deborah: she talked to "nightline" coanchor byron pitts about the exchange. >> i recognized the moment because i recognized the behavior, because that was once me. >> byron: addiction? >> uh-huh. >> here's wendy! >> wendy williams was on the air

for nearly 14 years, which is amazing. wendy williams was just so over the top, and people love that. they loved the wigs. they loved that she actually owned up to wearing a wig at a time where no one else was saying they were wearing a wig. wendy williams was saying, "honey, this is a wig." >> please, honey, look. >> deborah: wendy seen as an inspiration to many women in radio and tv, including her niece, alex, who's an anchor at abc's miami affiliate wplg. >> she was always a beautiful guide for me in this industry and just in general growing up. she instilled in me the confidence that i needed. >> our first caress -- >> deborah: for many the talk show host's story took a dramatic turn on halloween of 2017 when she collapsed on-air. her hit show went on. >> i did pass out, but you know what i'm a champ and i'm back.

>> deborah: two years later, another setback. >> i have been living in a sober house. and you know i've had a struggle with cocaine. >> deborah: then a messy divorce, bizarre behavior, and long absences from the set, in part due to complications from graves' disease and lymphedema. the wendy williams show was canceled. months later she invited documentary cameras in. it would become a raw and jarring look at her life and recent struggles with sobriety. >> you think you're perfectly fine having as many drinks as you want? >> perfectly. >> okay. i'm going to put it downstairs to keep it cool. >> keep it there. keep it there! >> deborah: is she an alcoholic? >> in terms of being an alcoholic, i don't want to categorize her. i'm not a medical professional. but there's something wrong that is beyond just picking up a bottle and not being able to put it down. >> deborah: the sealed lawsuit against lifetime's parent company brought on by her

court-appointed guardian. a new york judge appointing the guardian to manage wendy's health and finances in may 2022. >> a guardianship as they call it in new york, a conservatorship as they call it in other parts of the country like california, a court appoints a person or organization to handle the needs of an individual who cannot do it for themselves. it can be as broad or as narrow as that person needs. >> deborah: the action coming after her bank, wells fargo, claimed in court documents that wendy was an incapacitated person and a victim of undue influence and financial exploitation. >> why can't you access your money right now? that seems really unfair. >> i have no idea. one judge and three doctors say my money is still stuck at wells fargo. and i'm going to tell you something. fit happens to me, it could happen to you. >> deborah: there was talk that wells fargo got involved in this because they thought either her son, kevin jr., or somebody, was taking advantage of her financially? >> yeah.

>> deborah: do you know that to be true? >> so i personally have not seen family taking advantage of my aunt's money. i haven't. >> have you ever taken money from your mother's account? >> not without her consent. >> deborah: wells fa are go telling angst, this matter was conducted under seal. any claims against wells fargo have been dismissed. >> as her family, we were all sitting on the sidelines watching. i miss my family. >> i'll be there. >> please be here. >> deborah: people will look at this documentary and wonder, where's your family? how come family's not there saving her? >> family was shut out. >> you had people in the family from the beginning saying that we would take responsibility with regard to guardianship and personal needs to ensure that she was healthy. >> deborah: wendy williams' family saying they have only been able to receive limited contact from her since she entered a treatment facility last year. >> as a family, we have been kept out of a lot of details.

the location in terms of where she is, we don't specifically know. >> deborah: you don't know where she is? >> no. her guardian has not released that information to us. i haven't seen her in about nine months. >> deborah: nine months? >> i haven't seen her in a really long time, but i finally am talking to her regularly, and our conversations are beautiful. she sounds healthy. she sounds happy. in terms of she wants to move on with her life. but whatever is happening right now, it seems to be working. >> deborah: your hopes for her, do you think that she has a prayer of actually resuming a career? >> i think that -- well, i know that, in talking with her, she does hope to resume a career. and my hope for her is that she does whatever she wants to do that makes her happy and that stays in the bounds of keeping her healthy. >> phil: our thanks to deborah.

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♪ >> phil: welcome back. a new wave of phone fraudsters so convincing, they're successfully scamming people who say they knew better. here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> there's really a scam out there for everyone. >> reporter: that scam, charlotte cole says, started with a phone call. the caller telling her she was

the victim of identity fraud. >> it started out sounding very harmless. i received a call from someone claiming to be from amazon customer service. she said that there had been some suspicious activity under my account. >> reporter: cole, a financial advice columnist in new york city, said she was transferred to people claiming to be part of the ftc and even the cia. >> he knew my social security number, and he told me that my identity had been stolen by a criminal organization that had been using my personal information to carry out international crimes. >> reporter: that cooperation, she says, got her tangled in a wild web. the entire ordeal ended in her handing over $50,000 in cash to a stranger. the entire saga detailed in an article she wrote for "the cut." >> they found my vulnerability, and they just kept pressing on it. >> reporter: according to a recent report from the ftc, 18

to 59-year-olds are 34% more likely than older adults to lose money to fraud. >> the scammers have gotten much, much more believable over time. basically, they've got so much information about you that makes you truly believe that they are who they say they are. >> reporter: last year, reported losses to fraud went up to more than $10 billion, a 14% increase from 2022. and high-profile figures are not immune. television host and producer andy cohen telling the "today" show that he had fallen victim to a scam after receiving an email he thought was from his bank. >> i went into the bank. we were going through it. they said these wires were initiated. whoever you are, i hate you, but you are veg at your job. >> reporter: charlotte told her the scammer told her she was being charged with cyber crimes, money laundering, and drug trafficking, and she felt she had to cooperate. >> i was scared and uncertain,

and they were extremely authoritative. >> reporter: the scammers, charlotte say, demanded $50,000 in cash which she says she put in a shoebox and gave to a driver who came to her house. >> i just started realizing, oh my god, what have i done? i can't believe this has happened. >> reporter: charlotte filed a police report but says the entire experience left her feeling humiliated and violated. >> so many victims of scams just feel so ashamed. >> reporter: experts warn consumers to always be on the lookout. >> there is no way that a member of law enforcement is going to legitimately be asking you to forward them money, in any manner. they're going to come out and talk to you. >> it really has made me who i trust and who i let into my life. but at the same time, i think that we can't all just live in

fear. >> phil: our thanks to eva. when we come back, rod stewart swinging with "pennies from heaven." ♪ pennies from heaven don't you know each cloud contains pennies from heaven ♪ now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up, i've got symptom relief. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi is the first il-23 inhibitor that can deliver remission and visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. and the majority of people experienced long-lasting remission at one year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease.

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♪ >> phil: finally tonight, rod stewart like you've never heard him. ♪ pennies from heaven ♪ >> phil: dropping "swing fever." the first single "pennies from heaven" with rod tearing up the dance floor in a metallic striped suit. he's been making albums over 50 years but reportedly said he didn't want even one slow song on "swing fever." ♪ for you and me that is it now come on ♪ >> phil: that's "nightline." watch full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here at the same time monday. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.