Wendy Williams reveals she is battling the same disease as Bruce Willis

After years of ill health, the full extent of US talk show host Wendy Williams’ health condition has been revealed.

US talk show host Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia – the same condition as Bruce Willis – as well as aphasia, her team has announced.

“As Wendy’s fans are aware, in the past she has been open with the public about her medical struggles with Graves’ disease and Lymphedema as well as other significant challenges related to her health,” her team said in a statement.

Williams underwent a litany of health tests in 2023 after her memory started to fail and she began to “lose words” and “act erratically”.

Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Picture: Getty Images for Vulture Festival

Doctors concluded Williams’ struggles were due to these neurodegenerative diseases, according to the New York Post.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a group of disorders that occur when nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain are lost, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

FTD can affect behaviour, personality, language, and movement.

“Receiving a diagnosis has enabled Wendy to receive the medical care she requires,” the statement said.

Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. Picture: Getty Images

“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances.”

The press released assured fans that the former shock jock is “still able to do many things for herself” and has maintained her “trademark sense of humour”.

Williams, who remains in an undisclosed treatment centre where her family claims they’ve been unable to reach her, has been receiving the care she needs to make sure she is “protected,” the statement read.

There have been concerns around the star’s health for years. Picture: Getty Images

“She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and good wishes being sent her way.”

The disclosure of Williams’ condition comes ahead of the release of a new documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams?

Filmed over the course of two years, the documentary will dive into the media personality’s declining health and alcoholism, all of which contributed to her being placed under a court-ordered guardianship in 2022.

Fans first became concerned with Williams’ health when she collapsed on-air during a taping of her talk show in 2017.

A year later, she pegged the health scare to her Graves’ disease diagnosis, but not long after that admission she copped to living in a sober house to treat her alcoholism.

Originally published as Wendy Williams reveals she is battling the same disease as Bruce Willis