Wendy Williams Appears Frail Day Before Announcing Hiatus

Newly released images show a frail Wendy Williams exiting her talk show just a day before she announced she was taking a break.

New images obtained by the Daily Mail show a frail Wendy Williams after her show, The Wendy Williams Show, on Tuesday, Feb. 20. In the images, Williams, 53, is seen being helped into an SUV, tightly gripping the arm of security guard to remain steady on her feet. She has also ditched her heels for a pair of flats. The images, taken just a day before the longtime talk show host announced she’d be taking a three-week-long break, are further raising concern by fans for her health.

You can see the images on the Daily Mail.

On Wednesday, Williams, whose talk show has been on-air since 2008, announced that she will take three weeks off from her live show to treat Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism.

“My doctor has prescribed — are you ready? — three weeks of vacation,” she told viewers after detailing her symptoms, which include difficulty sleeping and irritability. “I was pissed. Encore performances, really?”

Graves’ disease is an immune system disorder that causes hypothyroidism, the overproduction of thyroid hormones. Other symptoms of the disease may include heat sensitivity, hand or finger tremors and weight loss, despite keeping up normal eating habits.

While Williams did not outline her treatment plan, it may entail traditional methods of treatment including medications, radioactive iodine therapy to destroy overactive thyroid cells or surgery.

Williams’ announcement and health update comes just a week after she was forced to cancel tapings for her show and take three days off as she battled the flu.

The host previously had a health scare on her live television program in October, when she lost balance, looked unwell and fainted during her Halloween episode, all while elaborately dressed as the Statue of Liberty.

While Williams is away on her three-week hiatus, reruns chosen from her more than 1,500 episodes will be syndicated daily during her regularly scheduled air time.