but i won't be home ♪ ♪ no i won't be home i won't be home ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] this is nightline. tonight, wendy williams. i feel like i am in prison. the growing online movement to end the court appointed guardianship of the one time self-proclaimed queen of all media. >> free, wendy williams. >> she should be able to enjoy her life the way she wants to enjoy her life. >> sparked by williams breaking her silence for the first time

in nearly a year. >> we didn't know where where wendy williams was. >> the former megawatt star, once famous for her no holds barred talk show. >> how are you doing? how are you doing? how are you doing? >> shocking fans after being diagnosed with a type of dementia, which she denied on the don lemon show. >> wendy, are you incapacitated? >> hell, no. >> her guardian denies all wrongdoing. what happens next? plus left behind. >> my son is in the second grade. he cannot read. he cannot write. >> moms of kids with dyslexia fighting for change. every child deserves a right to read. parents disrupting what some see as a school to prison pipeline. if you're not. >> diagnosed and you're not educated properly, you don't get that chance to become the person who can change society. >> in a cause championed by u2's drummer larry mullen jr. >> he was. >> known for keeping the beat on

classics like pride, in the name of love. opening up about his own condition. >> i knew for years that that there was something wrong. >> and take a load off fanny. >> remembering the last surviving member of the band, famous for hits like the weight. famous for hits like the weight. nightline will be h? congestion? i'm feeling better. all in one and done... with mucinex kickstart. aaaaaaaaaaaaa. - headache? - better now. mucinex kickstart gives all-in-one and done relief with a morning jolt of instant cooling sensation. it's comeback season. when winter season hits emergen-c supports your immune system with so much more than vitamin c. be ready to fight back with emergen-c and for on-the-go immune support try emergen-c crystals. no water needed.

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>> thanks for joining us. former talk show host wendy williams has broken her silence. once known for her confrontational, no holds barred interview style, williams has been in a court appointed guardianship and off the radar for nearly a year. her reappearance shocking fans and triggering a wave of calls to free her. >> wendy. wendy. wendy. >> let's start by saying free wendy. free wendy williams. >> she should be able to enjoy her life the way she wants to enjoy her life. >> all over social media. a flurry of support for talk show legend wendy williams. >> people are really worried about this situation and what wendy is going through. >> with the people who watched wendy's show, the fans. i never realized how hard they ride for wendy, you know, and how many people she's really impacted. >> most know her as the larger than life, self-proclaimed queen of all media, host of her own namesake daytime gabfest the

wendy williams show. >> here's wendy. >> but lately, she's been in the spotlight for a more serious reason. according to her care team, she was diagnosed with a form of dementia. her reported public decline shocking her loyal fans. >> we had heard so many rumors about how she was doing, you know, we didn't know where where wendy williams was. >> for nearly three years, she's been under a court appointed guardianship to manage her health and finances. >> a guardianship, as they call it, in new york, or a conservatorship, as they call i, in other parts of the country, like california is where a court appoints either a person or an 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. >> hi, everybody. >> but just last week, wendy finally breaking her silence. speaking with charlamagne tha god on his radio show the breakfast club, advocating for her independence. >> i am not cognitively impaired. you know what i'm

saying? no, but i feel like i am in prison. >> an emotional wendy saying that she feared potential retaliation from doing the interview. >> what if they take my phone? i won't be able to talk to anybody. >> i think that there were a lot of shocking things that came out of the interview. the idea that she doesn't even control who can contact her, or it sounds like she doesn't even have much control over her phone. and i think to hear her describe that, she essentially was living in a luxury prison was really, really surprising to people. >> now, some of her followers are rallying behind her, using the hashtag free wendy, even setting up an online petition garnering more than 2000 signatures. after almost a year, wendy resurfacing at her son's college graduation last month in florida. her brother, tommy williams, says he was grateful to be able to spend some time with her. >> the night before her flight. i was the last person who. >> got to get together with her.

i saw her off, broke some bread, shared some snacks and it meant everything to me. just the time that we spent was just great. >> wendy also doing a phone interview with don lemon right after speaking with the breakfast club. >> wendy, are you incapacitated? >> hell no. >> i don't know what all of the faces of dementia look like, but i will say, it didn't sound like what i think a lot of us expected to hear. this sounded like the wendy williams that was hosting her show on television every day. it sounded like wendy williams. >> oh, i spoke with wendy yesterday and her energy was great. she sounds very, very good when i speak with her, and she's very happy and enthusiastic. when we do have the opportunity to speak. >> experts warn dementia is complex and that its symptoms could come in waves, and that the person impacted may not fully be aware of their mental state. >> every case is different. what always remains the same is that this is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, and

unfortunately, we don't have a cure and we don't have a treatment that slows down the progress of the disease. so it's a question of how rapidly someone's disease progresses, but not a question of if the disease will progress. so it sort of depends on how an individual patient is able to perform as time goes on. >> before that diagnosis. she was a titan who dominated tv screens and airwaves across america for three decades. no celebrity was off limits during her talk shows. scorching hot topics. >> mariah. >> i don't know who you think you're fooling with. this one. >> and her signature catchphrase. >> how you doing? how you doing? how you doing? >> our first caress. >> but for many, the talk show host's story took a dramatic turn on halloween of air. her ht

show went on. >> i did pass out, but you know what? i'm a champ and i'm back. >> but two years later, another setback. >> i have been living in a sober house. and, you know, i've had a struggle with cocaine. >> then a messy divorce, bizarre behavior and long absences from the set, in part due to complications from graves disease and lymphedema. in june 2022, the wendy williams show was canceled. years later, she was once again in the public eye with a lifetime documentary project titled where is wendy williams? 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. but i'm just going to put it downstairs to keep it cool. >> keep it there, okay? keep it there. >> alex finney, the niece and goddaughter of wendy williams, speaking with my colleague deborah roberts last year about

her aunt's private struggle just before wendy's diagnosis was made public. >> i feel like i've been living in this secret bubble for a very long time. >> it is heartbreaking. some people are going to look at this and say, this is exploitation. she's being exploited. how could they do this? right. what do you say to that? >> you know, and i understand that some people look at it and think that. but 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, wendy, why are do you want to do this? she said, now is the perfect time because i want to take ownership of my story. >> 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 why are you doing this? and she said, i want to tell my story. that conversation was crystal clear. >> then the devastating revelation through wendy's care team that she'd been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia, a form of frontotemporal dementia, or ftd. her team saying the decision to share her diagnosis was made not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for wendy, but to raise awareness about the disease and to support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances. >> frontotemporal dementia. it tends to affect younger people in their 40s to 60s. it's pretty rare and it affects behavior like decision making, personality, impulse control, and then it also affects communication skills. but most patients will have a mixture of behavioral and language symptoms. >> the documentary prompting a legal battle between wendy's guardian sabrina morris, and lifetime's parent company a&e. in a statement to abc news, an attorney for sabrina morris

defending her client against wendy's comments because the court proceedings involving miss williams are under seal. miss morris is restricted in defending herself at this time from all the spurious and defamatory claims and personal attacks being raised against her. nevertheless, miss morris emphatically denies any wrongdoing, mismanagement or self-dealing with regard to miss williams guardianship, adding that all of the court appointed guardians activities are regulated and supervised by the court. a&e telling abc news in a statement wendy williams recent breakfast club interview speaks for itself. it's not the first time wendy's struggles have come to light. after a tense interview with whitney houston in 2003. >> is there drug use going on at this present time? >> who are you talking to? don't talk to me about that. >> you are very defensive, whitney. >> i have to be wendy. you talk about me every day. >> wendy said she was forced to face her own demons. speaking to nightline co-anchor byron pitts about that in 2015. >> i recognized the moment

because i recognized the behavior, because that was once me addiction. >> wendy is seen as an inspiration to many women in radio and tv, including her own niece, alex. >> i'm alex finnie. >> who is an anchor at abc's miami affiliate wplg. >> she was always a beautiful guide for me in this industry and just as an aunt in general, growing up, she instilled in me the confidence that i needed. >> while alex declined to comment on this report last year, she told us she hoped her aunt would soon be able to turn the page on this chapter. >> 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. >> and when we come back, meet a group of moms and a bona fide rock star united in their mission to help kids with dyslexia flip the script and

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this way to health insurance. been saved. >> and welcome back. i'm joined now by two of my dear friends, two filmmakers who i've had the pleasure of working with on a new documentary. it's called left behind, and director anna twomey, a former abc news producer, thank you very much. and producer larry mullen jr, who also happens to be a global rock star as the drummer of u2. their new film explores dyslexia, which can severely affect reading for roughly one in every five humans. so, larry and anna, welcome to nightline.

>> thank you for having us. >> now, before we get started, i want to take a quick look at a clip. let's take a look. >> my son is in the second grade. he cannot read. he cannot write. if i don't support him, i know what lies ahead in this country. for him. >> now, anna left behind follows a group of moms who turn into activists who fight for their kids. and they know that dyslexia can either be a superpower or a curse. so tell me a little bit about what inspired you to tell this story. >> so my own son is dyslexic, and that is what inspired me and sort of opened up my eyes to what was happening. dyslexia can be and is called a superpower. there's a lot more dyslexic that are risk takers, creative, and they're the backbone of our society. yet if you're not diagnosed and you're not educated properly, you don't get that chance to become the leader. >> now, larry, i joke you've

been a rock star for decades with you two. >> we're a band from the north side of dublin called the u2. >> and you usually take a sort of back seat when it comes to these philanthropic causes. but here you're stepping out into the spotlight with left behind. in many ways, it's personal for you, but you really see it as a social justice issue, too. >> yeah, 50 years of sitting behind something and somebody, it takes a lot to get me out from behind that this is a story that's very personal to me. my eldest son, is badly dyslexic. he's 29 now, and he went through a, you know, a very rough period of time. and he never got the proper education that he needed. it's not a superpower for him. at 29, it's still a super

struggle. >> and your artistry is embedded in this film because you've told me that you literally composed the opening sequence. >> i wanted him to see the film because i wanted to talk to him about how he felt, and i could see it bringing up all kinds of feelings in him anger, rage, upset, disappointment. and i really felt okay. i think i can express that with these things. it has a whole lot of resonance for me, because the first time, after five years that i played and it was in his honor, i suppose. >> and the music just really resonates emotionally. at the opening of the film. >> you made me angry. no place for people like me. >> anna, tell me about where the film goes from here because it's been in festivals. it's getting people's attention, it's sparking conversation, which is part of that social justice

aspect of it. >> yeah. and that's what's really resonating with people, is that it is about social, social justice. every child deserves a right to read. every child deserves to be in a classroom and feel good about themselves. and that's the very thing about having dyslexia. you get into a classroom you recognize i can't read and i don't know why. >> larry, your producing partner chris farrell at velvet strand, said that you are not a straight line thinker, but that you end up getting there. where does your crooked line get to you from here with velvet strand and beyond? >> i think the crooked line is directly related to my own not being able to, to, to count and to add up. i don't think laterally. >> the joke is that you always look like you have a pained look on your face. >> that's right. >> when you're drumming, in part because you realize you have dyscalculia, which is the math equivalent of what your son has. the dyslexia. >> yeah. now, i knew for years

that that there was something wrong. and i think because i could read and i could spell even those difficult for me, i was able to get through the math thing if it's the other way around and you can't read and write. you are absolutely screwed. so for people with dyscalculia, we can manage. >> larry, anna, thank you so much. and for our viewers, you should know left behind is having a theatrical release now and you can learn more about it and upcoming streaming announcements at left behind. the film.com. >> i picked up. >> and when we come back remembering the last surviving member of the band famous for huge songs like up on cripple. >> creek. >> and just for a laugh. now >> and just for a laugh. now there's severe plaque psoriasis my skin was no longer mine. my active psoriatic arthritis joint symptoms held me back.

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>> and finally, tonight, the last member of the band, garth hudson, has died. he brought the melody to the band, playing keyboards, horns, and many other instruments on monster hits like the weight. >> catcher, cannonball, now to take me down the line. >> and up on cripple creek. >> up on cripple. >> creek. >> she sends me, if i spring a leak. >> passing away today at 87 in woodstock, the place he called home. >> a lifestyle that we. >> got to love in woodstock. >> fixing a tape recorder. and fixing a screen door, you know, and stuff like that. and getting the songs together.

>> and he'll be missed. that's nightline. you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here. same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night. america. >> now you can listen to a podcast version of nightline, available free wherever you listen. what don't you know about the man? >> rex sherman was living a very compartmentalized double life. >> accused of being. >> a monster. >> it's like two different people. jekyll and hyde is a real monster. >> he's pleaded not guilty to all the charges. >> the gilgo beach murders. >> now, law enforcement is exposing gruesome details of his alleged double life. police discovered a single word document that ended up becoming one of the most disturbing parts of the case. this document, according to prosecutors, reads like a plan for how to go about killing victims. >> jaw dropping. >> now, one woman who believes she got away. >> i probably