Wendy Williams opened her talk show in tears on January 19, while she addressed her brother Tommy Williams and the siblings’ feud — which turned public when he accused her of not attending their mother Shirley‘s funeral in a viral video on social media. In a near 7-minute emotional rant on The Wendy Show stage, Wendy clarified that she did attend “mommy’s service,” where she alleged that Tommy “fist fought” an unnamed, much younger family member. Wendy also responded to Tommy’s allegation that his sister wasn’t honest when she told their father that she had to return to New York to “take care of business.” Tommy claimed that instead of attending their mother’s funeral, Wendy was “out to lunch,” with her ex-husband Kevin Hunter Sr. and their son Kevin Hunter Jr.
Here’s what Wendy had to say on her Tuesday morning talk show: “Tommy, I talked to daddy… Tommy you know I was at mommy’s service and you know that you fist fought a loving member of our family who’s half your age… You started a fight over an open casket with mother right there and thank God we were at a civilized funeral home, where they helped shield my mother’s casket from being knocked over,” she recalled.
“For all of you all who wonder why I said on that day [that] I appreciate my ex-husband more than I can appreciate my brother, it’s because my ex-husband was invited to be there,” Wendy continued before noting that her mother “wore a gorgeous cheetah print dress” from Neiman Marcus and “the right lipstick in a particular pink she wanted” at her service. “And you fought someone,” Wendy said in reference to her brother.
The host went on to speak kindly of her ex-husband, which isn’t something she typically does — especially after he fathered a child with another woman, which led to their April 2019 split. “I know it’s not my place, by the way he [Kevin Sr.] smelled very good,” she recalled of her ex’s scent while at her mother’s service, confirming, “No, we’re not getting back together.”
Wendy went on to describe what happened when her brother allegedly ‘fist fought’ at Shirley’s service, which took place in Florida. “I was removed and big Kev said, ‘I need to break this up this is not right.’ I said, ‘[Kevin Jr.] what do you think.’ He said ‘Mom, everyone here is old, no one is getting up to fight, so yeah [break it up],'” Wendy recalled. He explained that Hunter Sr. “will always be my ex-husband and in the name of what’s right. He walked up to the front and separated my brother and this young family member, who was very confused because he’s still a young man,” she recalled.
After the alleged incident, “I said to Kev [Jr.] ‘Your dad is really something else. I don’t want to guide you or lead you into thinking that we’re [getting back together],'” she remembered telling her son. “We found it in our hearts not to forgive, but to move on in the name of the service. And, my son said yeah and that’s why we went out to eat after – the three of us… We were listening to music in the car and we go to a random place to eat that had good food that we all liked,” Wendy said, adding that Hunter Sr. later dropped off his ex-wife and their son at her sister’s home. “And, that is all I’m going to say about that situation,” she said through tears.
Wendy later reiterated: “No, I don’t [want to get back together, but] he was the man that day. He was so the man that his sunglasses stayed balanced on top of his head.” she said about Hunter Sr.’s heroic act at her mother’s service. Additionally, Wendy confirmed that her divorce from her ex “had everything to do with… the baby, the woman, my career and what you’ve done deep.” That wasn’t the first time Wendy has spoken about Hunter Sr.’s infidelity on her show.
Wendy’s rocky relationship with her brother became public on January 16, when the personal trainer — who often refers to himself as “the brother of Wendy Williams” — posted a YouTube video titled, “My mom is on my mind… Good Morning Tommy Katz”.
“My mother always said stand by your family and your sisters,” he said during the 30-minute video. “But what makes somebody not go to their mother’s funeral? I don’t understand not giving a salute to the one person who was always there and showed you support. I don’t understand how a person can not go to a funeral and hold up the one person or the family member that you do have, the parent that you do have left, and just move on. Keep it moving. I don’t understand how to keep living somebody who could cause that type of pain,” Tommy continued. The latter sparked a number of rumors about Wendy’s attendance at the service.
By January 18, Wendy had caught wind of her brother’s accusations, which she said her fans warned her about. “Tommy, all you are is my brother. You better stop talking they way you’re talking because now it’s dripping into my comment page,” she said on her Martin Luther King Jr. Day show, later adding that Tommy “is pegging my to be a person that I’m not.”
Wendy continued, “If you want to talk on the internet then you talk about the things that you know about yourself. You don’t want to talk about the things that I know about you, for sure… I’ve been holding back for years with no reason to say anything… you and your wife better get your life before I get it for you,” she said, adding that she had many “receipts.”
After that, Tommy took to Instagram to share a 5-minute video addressed to his sister. Tommy claimed he spoke to their father, who he said was upset with Wendy over her allegedly missing their mother’s funeral.
“You were married 21 years, right? It’s not about Kevin. Kevin came to the viewing I thought that was great… showed his admiration and his love for mommy,” Tommy said in part, noting, “that night was special, memorable, fun memories – mommy’s still here all the time. I’m sure she doesn’t understand Wendy, why you didn’t come to her funeral? Why did you have to lie to daddy, telling him you had to be back in New York and you were here?”
Tommy continued, “He wants to know. He doesn’t understand. There’s an emptiness because of you, because of our selfishness… I love you, I do, I’m concerned, yes. Have I tried reaching out numerous times, you hang up, you don’t call back — I’m not calling for me, I’m calling for daddy,” he said, adding, “Mommy wants us to stay strong as a family.”