MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Will Selby, Wendy Williams' manager, has responded to Kevin Hunter Jr's recent interview in which he voiced concerns that his mother was being exploited by her team due to her alcoholism. In a recent interview, Selby strongly refuted the allegations.
Wendy Williams' son Kevin Hunter Jr, 22, earlier spoke candidly about his mother's health and shared his opinions. In his first-ever interview with The US Sun, Kevin shed some light on the celebrity's battle with serious alcoholism by saying that things became worse after being placed under guardianship. He claimed that while Wendy's health was being neglected, the team was taking advantage of her predicament.
'To get what?'
Selby said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight, "Taking advantage of her for what? To get what? To do what? I'm not here to brag but I was doing just okay before Wendy came along and I insisted on helping her because she requested my assistance." Selby explained Wendy's court-appointed guardianship, claiming that neither her team nor anyone else could possibly abuse Wendy.
"Wendy is under a guardianship. Everything that she does gets approved by the guardianship. A court-appointed guardianship. So, no one, even if they wanted to take advantage of her -- everything has to get approved by that court," Selby added. "So, any type of business dealings that we do, Wendy, myself and anyone -- we have to get the guardianship to sign off on it. So how can anyone take advantage of her?"
'First thing you do is call an online publication?'
Later, the jeweler-turned-manager chided Kevin for approaching a publication before addressing his problems with his mother. "If your mother was near death would the first thing you do is call an online publication?" he questioned. "Okay. So, that's all I have to say about that."
"I usually don't do this. I'm only speaking on behalf of my client, and I'm not trying to have a debate with Kevin. You know he's a young man, and honestly, I feel like he's gone through a lot. He's probably dealing with a lot," Selby said of the 22-year-old, whom Wendy had with her ex-husband Kevin Hunter. "I have a son that's the same age as him, and sometimes you just make poor decisions, in my opinion, and I'm just speaking to my son."
"I'm not here to be combative about whatever allegations he has," Selby continued. "He's entitled to his opinion. I'm just trying to say that us, as adults, let's be responsible and let's actually utilize some common sense. Someone was near death, someone like your mother. Why would you go to an online publication to discuss it with them?"
In response to the interview, Wendy's representative, Shawn Zanotti, had a similar opinion, adding, "This publication has released false narratives with the intent to release stories without fully vetting information, which is a disadvantage to the public, and is unprofessional and unethical. We ask that the world continues to pray for the well-being of Wendy as she continues to recover from a very traumatic two years."
Wendy Williams is in a 'better place'
Selby expressed concern for Wendy's well-being and claimed that she is making every effort to be in a "better place." He stated, "She's progressing very well. She looks healthy. She sounds healthy, and I think she's doing amazing. As of today. I'm not a doctor, but that's my synopsis on how Wendy's doing right now."
Selby refrained from disclosing too many specifics about the former 'Wendy Williams Show' presenter, but he did reveal that Wendy is now receiving treatment in a wellness facility. "Wendy is at a facility doing her best to be her best. She's taking it day by day," Selby said of Wendy, who has spent the past few years in and out of facilities.
'She would never agree to this'
In a recent interview with The US Sun, Wendy's son Kevin spoke candidly about his mother's worsening mental and physical condition. He asserted that the popular host's financial guardianship appears to be the cause of her deplorable condition, which has been steadily becoming worse over the past two years.
"As hard as it is seeing her being taken advantage of, I know that if I'm making sure she, as a person, is okay, that is the important thing," Kevin said in the interview. "I know there are all sorts of things happening that I know in her right mind she would never agree to," he stated. "Because eventually, she's going to realize the craziness that's been going on."
Williams' surroundings have been Kevin's main concern in regard to his mother's well-being. He believes that Wendy's circle and her friends are promoting her drinking spree for their own gain. He reportedly learned of his mother's condition and the news of her hospitalization last month through her manager Will Selby.
Kevin, a college student, also lost access to funding for his studies since the talk show host forfeited direct access to her own money. He was asked to participate in a biographical project about Wendy's current status by his mother's team, but he declined.