After 14 seasons, “The Wendy Williams Show” is ending on account of Williams’ ongoing health issues. 

“The Wendy Williams Show” began back in 2008 as a talk show where Williams’ discussed the latest celebrity news. Back in fall 2021, Williams had canceled promotions of her show due to medical issues. 

In October 2021, she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and officially postponed the next season of her show. Over the last few months, there has been much discussion on whether or not Williams’ would be able to continue with the show. On Feb. 22, news arose that Williams’ will be leaving the talk show, and Sherri Shepard is set to take over her timeslot. 

A spokesperson for Williams made a statement to CNN regarding the cancellation: “It’s been a challenging time for Wendy as she deals with her health issues,” they said. “She is incredibly grateful to Debmar-Mercury, to Sherri and everybody else who has supported the show through this time.” 

She hopes to return in the future when her health is back on track, but for now, Williams is stepping down. 

Williams has faced many challenges with her health, suffering from Graves’ disease alongside lymphedema. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disorder that leads to an overproduction of thyroid hormones. Williams fainted on live television in 2017, due to her challenges with this disease. 

She also suffers from lymphedema, which is the build-up of fluid in soft body tissues when the lymph system is damaged or blocked, as stated by the CDC. 

At the time, her disorder had been trivialized by the media and made into a joke, but now these medical issues are what led to her resignation from the show. In the past, Williams has been open about her struggles with addiction and is currently sober.

Sophomore Alex Nikas spoke to The Pace Press about this newfound knowledge of Williams’ health issues and whether it changes her perception of these televised health scares. 

“It now adds some context and I feel for her for sure, but her illness doesn’t make her and her show less iconic!” Nikas said. “It’s unfortunate she’s dealing with this, but I don’t feel bad for laughing at parts of her show, not the fainting of course because that was a genuine scare, because she’s been known to be extremely mean and messy on there!”

Williams has been very appreciative of her fans and the support they have been giving her during this difficult time. As she expressed on Instagram back in November, “You are everything to me. I love spending my mornings with you all and I’m doing everything I can to get back to work, but right now Wendy has to focus on Wendy. I love you for watching.” 

Shepard announced last week that she is taking Williams’ spot on the Fox channel. Fans of the talk show are sad to see Williams go but are happy for Shepard in her new role on her daytime show.