Wendy Williams is going to need a seat filler for her purple chair.
It was announced Thursday morning that Williams will not, in fact, be premiering Season 13 on Monday as previously announced as she continues to battle ongoing health issues.
“Wendy will not be returning with new shows on Oct. 4,” the statement, which was posted to the talk show’s Instagram, began. “She has been and continues to be under a doctor’s care and is still not ready to return to work.”
The announcement states the show will return with new episodes on Oct. 18, but it notably does not say Williams will return, leaving open the possibility that guest hosts will fill in for her.
A rep for the show subsequently clarified that Williams “will host” come Oct. 18.
The announcement also notes that the 57-year-old daytime talk show host’s breakthrough COVID case “is no longer an issue” because she’s tested negative, but “she’s still dealing with some ongoing medical issues.”
Williams was forced to cancel multiple appearances to promote the new season due to “ongoing health issues” and then later pushed the premiere date of the new season back from Sept. 20 to Oct. 4, after revealing the aforementioned COVID diagnosis. Days after announcing she tested positive, Williams was reportedly checked into a hospital for a mental health evaluation.
Williams’ team announced earlier this week that she would finally return next Monday after delaying for her medical woes, including the psych eval. Following the big announcement, an insider told Page Six that the show would premiere without any guests so fans could get an hour’s worth of “Hot Topics,” Williams’ signature segment.
“It will be a full hour of her and ‘Hot Topics,’ which she usually does on a Monday show, but this time it will be even juicier,” an insider told Page Six.
“There’s a lot to talk about, and she knows everyone will be watching,” they added.