Tuesday’s talk-show Halloween celebrations took a scary turn during Wendy Williams’ eponymous talk show.
Towards the end of Wendy, the host, dressed in a bright green Statue of Liberty costume, seemed to lose her balance before wobbling for a bit and then falling down. Her eyes got wide as she tilted to her left and then staggered as she adjusted her green hair and dropped out of the screen.
Viewers quickly took to Twitter to express their concerns for the host.
But it seems she was fine. Williams returned to the airwaves, blaming the incident on overheating in her costume.
“That was not a stunt,” she said on her show. “I overheated in my costume, and I did pass out. But, you know, I’m a champ, and I’m back.”
A rep for Williams’ show later told The Hollywood Reporter, “Wendy is feeling much better. She overheated because of her heavy costume, makeup and lights. She was able to finish the show in true Wendy spirit. She will address the incident on tomorrow’s show.”
What is happening with @WendyWilliams#TheWendyShow #WendyShow Ihope she’s okay pic.twitter.com/0AoASShoOD
— Ron (@xceptnothin) October 31, 2017
She came back and is okay. Don’t scare us like that @WendyWilliams pic.twitter.com/TIOjmRFZsp
— Ajones32 (@Ajones32) October 31, 2017
On Wednesday’s show, Williams gave viewers a detailed rundown of what she was thinking and what happened behind the scenes as she fainted and what happened after the show.
Williams began by reiterating that it wasn’t a joke, explaining that that’s not her style.
“You know I don’t want to fall. I’m a tall woman, and it’s a long way down. I’m also a woman of a particular age, and I’m not trying to break anything. And also I don’t do stunts and jokes for you like that. I don’t need that,” she said.
Williams said she started feeling uneasy about 48 minutes into the show as her producer was briefing her on what they were going to do after the commercial break.
“I felt it as she was talking to me,” Williams said. “All I heard was ‘buh, buh, buh, buh, buh.’ And all I’m thinking is ‘Wendy, oh my gosh’ … I’m like, ‘All right, Wendy, well, at least you’re wearing flats and you’re holding onto this [plexiglass podium] and there’s only 12 more minutes of the show. You can do it, girl.’ And I’m feeling waves and hot and like something’s about to happen. [I felt] hot and a little dizzy, but not like the room was spinning, just weird. So we come back from break. I heard nothing that [my producer] said. I immediately go to the teleprompter. I’m about to do the game, and that’s when you saw me with the eyes because it was scary! It was really scary. It was so scary.”
Williams choked up and wiped away tears as she recalled how scared she was. But she confirmed she didn’t have a stroke or a heart attack.
Still, Williams said, it was “chaos behind the scenes … there’s pandemonium on the floor.”
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After the show, Williams said, paramedics checked her out and told her her blood pressure and heart rate were fine but she was low on electrolytes.
Ultimately, Williams said, “I’m a 53-year-old middle-aged woman going through what middle-aged women go through, if you know what I mean. The costume got hot. Right before passing out, I felt like I was in the middle of a campfire.”
But she’s fine now and thanked all of the well-wishers for their tweets, flowers and support.
And to Williams’ critics who may have hoped something was wrong with her so they could get her job, she said, easing back into her seat, “No, I wasn’t stroking out and for people who thought I was, trying to get this purple chair next, nope, I’m here for a long time.”
Oct. 31, 10:26 a.m. Updated with a statement from a Wendy representative.
Nov. 1, 4:04 p.m. Updated with Williams’ comments Wednesday about the incident.
