After Wendy Williams joked about the death of Drew Carey‘s former fiancée Dr. Amie Harwick on her namesake talk show earlier this week, a growing number of viewers are petitioning to have her removed from the air. Just hours after the controversial remarks were made during the Monday episode of The Wendy Williams Show, several Change.org petitions were created calling for Williams’ firing, many citing a continued habit of controversial and oftentimes insensitive comments.
“Since July 14, 2008, Wendy Williams has wowed viewers in both positive and negative aspects, with an array of opinions based on hearsay and her own personal views,” one such petition, titled “Remove the Wendy Williams Show from Syndication,” reads. “She has both enlightened and offended viewers and entertainers alike, sometimes going a bit too far with her sporadically inane commentaries, randomly offering proverbial olive branches with her seemingly empty apologies, which are only prompted by the producers of her show, in exchange for more views as each season matriculates. We the people say enough is enough.”
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“After covering the murder of Drew Carey’s ex-fiancé Dr. Aimee Harwick recently, who was pushed from a third storey window, Wendy’s mockery of her death was tasteless and sociopathic,” it adds. “This petition goes to support our beliefs that such a vile person should not be allowed a public following on national television. Please end this show immediately.”
A second petition, which has surpassed its original goal of 1,000 signatures, claims that Williams has “a history of demeaning people” on her daytime talk show. Citing her most recent comments, the petition adds that “her show needs to be CANCELLED.”
A third petition, boldly titled “Cancel the Wendy Williams Show,” claims that allowing the show and Williams to remain on air “not only legitimizes the trivialization of domestic violence but helps perpetuate the idea that violence against women is both socially acceptable and open to jokes if done for a talk shows or entertainment ratings.”
The petitions, which follow a petition just last month calling for Williams’ firing, come after the talk show host seemingly made a joke about Harwick’s death. Making the tragedy a topic of her Hot Topics segment, Williams informed her viewers that the Los Angeles therapist had been “pushed from a third floor balcony,” presumably by her former boyfriend Gareth Pursehouse, who has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
In a moment that left her studio audience in complete silence and incited upset on social media, Williams then said, “Come on down,” the famous The Price Is Right catchphrase, while tilting her head up and then down, seemingly referring to Harwick’s fall.
The comment crossed a line for many, with some slamming the remarks on social media while others flocked to the newly created petition in the hopes of removing Williams from the air.
Williams has not yet responded to the backlash.
