The self-proclaimed “Queen of Gossip” shared the trailer on her series and online on December 3, revealing it’s hitting Lifetime on January 30. Wendy Williams: The Movie stars Ciara Payton (The Oval) as the host, and it traces all of Williams’ ups and downs over her career—from her early days in radio to becoming a full-fledged daytime talk show star. Following the movie, Lifetime is also releasing a documentary on her life, in which Williams herself opens up to her fans.
“It’s gonna be an evening event,” Williams set up the clip, which she was also seeing for the first time despite being one of the film’s executive producers. “Oh—and these are the actual actors. I’m not in this. The world exclusive premiere. Go!” she added.
The trailer then opens with Payton sitting in a dark radio booth, introducing herself to listeners. “It’s your girl Wendy Williams on the mic. I am here to stay!” she says. “Wendy Williams is not going anywhere. I’m gonna come in like a hurricane.” The trailer then includes several clips of Williams making it big—covering the pages of gossip magazines, debuting her talk show, and autographing novels
.Also in the trailer are several key moments from Williams’ career, including a re-enactment of the 2017 moment when she fainted on-camera while dressed as Lady Liberty for a Halloween segment. Her contentious relationship with ex-husband Kevin Hunter (played by Morocco Omari) is also a thread, as the story digs into his highly publicized affair. “You’re self-indulgent, you’re narcissistic, you got a coke habit,” Williams is told in the trailer, which clearly isn’t holding anything back. Later, viewers can also see the host on a table, prepping for surgery.
“Before I had you I had me, and not you, nor anyone else, have the power to take away my gifts,” Williams claims at one point. “I'm gonna bring the heat… I will turn this city out.” As the clip fades the camera pans back to the real-life Williams, whose immediate reaction to seeing the trailer for the first time is a simple, “wow…”
The 56-year-old personality is having quite the year. In addition to producing the biopic and starring in the documentary of her life, she also hilariously appeared on this season of The Masked Singer (Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CTV) as the Lips. While she was voted out early, she definitely still made quite the impression with fans.
Add in this trailer, and it seems like Williams will continue impressing fans well into 2021. Now hands up if you’re counting down the days until you can see all of that fictionalized drama unfold for yourself.
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