Talk Shows Can’t Replace Wendy Williams
Image Courtesy: Wendy Williams Show
Clap if you miss real talk shows. Alright, let's move on!
In a time where pop culture is moving faster than ever, there’s one element of the culture that’s missing… The Wendy Williams Show. Could you imagine what Williams would have said about Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s Wicked Press Tour? ‘Guess who’s jealous of Ariana Grande? Lena Waithe! Cynthia’s wife! Talk shows these days can not compare to the great Wendy Williams. There are so many essential factors that hosts today simply don’t have to capture the audience like Williams.
Born and raised in New Jersey to schoolteacher parents, Williams was the middle child. Her older sister was a scholar who had high expectations set upon her (like most eldest daughters) and a baby brother. As the middle child, they’re often sandwiched between their siblings, and Willians was no exception. Although she wasn’t as studious as her sister, she was gifted with the amazing talent of talking. As a kid, she was told that she “spoke too loud, [was] too fat, and too much,” which worked well in her favor as an adult. She graduated from university with a degree in communications and a minor in journalism. During her time at university, she aired her own music on the college’s radio station and then interned for a Boston DJ. After obtaining her degree, she moved to the US Virgin Islands, where she worked for a radio station, but was fired for not sticking to the script and talking too much. She then moved back to the States, where she worked in New York as a radio DJ, but then was fired …again. These closing doors weren't the end for Williams, but just the beginning of her astonishing career. In 2006, The Wendy Williams Experience radio show premiered and garnered about 12 million listeners. It is where we get the infamous “ Lucy, stop it! Denial is a river in Egypt, your husband is GAY! “
In 2008, The Wendy Williams Show was given a trial run on the BET network, and in the following year, her show premiered on Fox TV. Her show was like no other in the game at the time, covering various topics in pop culture from music to relationship drama and even political and social justice issues. Williams was not afraid of being messy with her “Hot Topics” portion of the show, which led her to have some beef with some of the celebrities she talked about. In 2019, she called out rapper Nicki Minaj for marrying her husband, who’s a registered sex offender, saying that it would ruin her brand and also emphasizing the damage of the crime he’s been charged with. Nicki Minaj clapped back on her radio show, defending her husband, saying that she didn’t know that people have to be plagued with their past, and also called Williams evil and vicious. Her show got real, unlike today’s shows that are highly curated for good PR for celebrities.
Miss Wendy Williams, we’ve yet to see someone do it like you!
Strike Out,
Johann Jonassaint
Boca Raton
Johann Jonassaint is a content writer for Strike Magazine Boca. A true Venusian who can never get enough of being wrapped in cozy sheets, listening to video essays or daydreaming. When she finally leaves her sheets, you can catch her writing at the library, the only place she can actually get work done. Feel free to contact her at jjonassaint2023@gmail.com or @jojoeva_ on Instagram.
