In a shocking legal maneuver sending ripples through the legal and entertainment communities, the ex-husband of daytime TV queen Wendy Williams, Kevin Hunter, has filed a $250 million lawsuit against the team overseeing her guardianship.
The wide-ranging lawsuit that People obtained leaves no stone unturned. Hunter is going after 48 defendants, including Williams' court-appointed legal guardian, Williams Morrissey, Judge Lisa Sokoloff, Wells Fargo, the assisted living center she now calls home, and a host of attorneys. His accusations are as grave as they get: constitutional rights are broken, financial plundering, emotional manipulation.
The suit does not seek an immediate end to Williams's guardianship, but it hopes Williams's style is the foundation upon which it rests. Hunter is demanding a new, neutral guardian, a complete forensic audit of whom she trusts, the unsealing of court records, and what he is calling for her "release from involuntary confinement." to top it all off, he is seeking a jaw-dropping $250 million her damages for lost income, emotional distress, reputational harm, and the rising cost of his legal bills.
"Guardianship is a civil death," the law" suit says, noting mounting worries about guardianship abuse in New York, which Hunter estimates as more than 28,000 adults aged 35 and older being victimized while under coun-court control.
Hunter and Williams were embroiled in scandal after reports that he'd fathered a child with another woman he'd been married to for more than 20 years, from 1999 to 2020. Despite the couple's very public split, Hunter made the couple's for having plenty to say regarding Williams' legal woes, but now he has filed a suit on her behalf and is asking for a trial by jury.
The lawsuit says the guardianship has severely damaged Williams' career and income. Hunter says she's been "losing around $20 million a year" without the ability to work or handle her affairs. The one-time queen of daytime talk and host of The Wendy Williams Show has retreated from the public in past years, causing concern among fans about her well-being, autonomy, and personal wealth.
The lawsuit raises urgent questions about how guardianship laws are administered and perhaps abused, particularly when they involve the famous and influential. For Hunter, the fight seems to be as much with dollars as with the dollars for what he sees as justice, transparency, and, above all, dignity for his ex-wife.
Though it is too early to tell how the court will rule or if any of the 48 defendants will face repercussions, there's no denying this lawsuit has taken the Wendy Williams saga to a new level. It's one the world is sure to be paying attention to.
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