If you’ve been paying any attention the recent news about Wendy Williams and the puzzling intricacies surrounding her longstanding guardianship and financial struggles, then this news will hopefully bring you some levity.
As previously reported, in not one but two bombshell interviews that were just made public a week ago, the eponymous daytime talk show host and her niece finally aired out some of the alleged wrongdoings that are happening as a result of the legal guardianship the former host is under. One of their main complaints was the lack of access Williams’ family had when it came to trying to visit her at the facility she’s housed at in New York and general challenges they’ve faced with visitation and communication.
After those interviews went public, people began pushing for changes for Williams on social media and speaking out about her mistreatment.
Now, it seems like all the talk may actually result in some serious change if New York state Sen. Anthony Palumbo has anything to do with it. Speaking to TMZ on Tuesday, the lawmaker said that after following Williams’ case for the last few years, he’s going to re-introduce a piece of legislation that seeks to change guardianship laws and family visitation.
The legislation Palumbo is referring to is the same one he originally introduced back in 2022, “Karilyn’s Law.” Per the New York state senate website, the law “provides that the court set the date for proceedings relating to family visitation under a guardianship petition for not more than ten days from the signing of the order to show cause; provides that visitation shall be a rebuttable presumption.”
What it means is family members who desire to visit their loved ones under a guardianship would be required to file a motion with the court to do so. After the filing, the legal guardian would have 10 days to prove if the individuals seeking visitation would cause concern or be inappropriate for the person under the guardianship. If the guardian can’t legally prove that, then the family must be allowed to visit.
Additionally, Palumbo asserted that he feels Williams shouldn’t be barred from visiting with her family members just because of her dementia or any other mental state she may be in. He also hopes that with this new attention on Williams, it’ll be the push he needs in order to get this new law enacted in the state.
And while this measure may be spawned by Williams, it will no doubt be a salve to other families who’ve run into similar issues in the past.