Cadwalader’s Global Litigation team is representing
Sabrina Morrissey, the court-appointed guardian for longtime
television and radio personality Wendy Williams, as co-counsel in
an action against the creators and distributors of a documentary,
Where Is Wendy Williams? that aired in February
2024.
In the amended complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court on
Monday, Ms. Morrissey is suing A&E Television Networks,
Lifetime Entertainment Services, EOne Productions, and Creature
Films and its executive producer, Mark Ford, in connection with the
documentary, the airing of which our team attempted to halt earlier
this year.
Our client’s position is that the network and defendants took
advantage of Ms. Williams for their own financial gain while she
was medically and legally incapacitated and unable to consent due
to her diagnosed frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive
aphasia. The amended complaint asserts that despite Ms.
Williams’s obvious incapacity, the defendants proceeded with
filming her, exploiting her illnesses for “entertainment
value” and thereby deliberately destroying her image and
future earning power by portraying her in a highly degrading and
humiliating manner. The amended complaint also asserts that the
defendants have earned millions of dollars from the documentary,
while Ms. Williams has only received approximately $82,000.
The Cadwalader team on this matter is led by partners Ellen Holloman and Amanda Devereux, with associates Magan Haycock, Victor Celis, Jayshree Balakrishnan, Rachel Skene, Russell Filip and Douglas Mo, and legal assistant Leiya Pujals.