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September 20, 2024
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.
