Wendy Williams has some bad news for Chris Brown:
She’s returning to the small screen.
Following Williams announcement that she needed to take a filming hiatus due to a diagnosis of Graves’ Disease, which apparently caused Brown to celebrate, the talk show host has now provided fans with a pair of updates:
FIRST, she will sit in her purple chair again for new episode starting on March 19.
SECOND, actor Jerry O’Connell will serve as the show’s guest host until then.
“Jerry has been such a good friend to me and to the show,” said Williams in a statement this afternoon, adding:
“We’re happy to welcome him as a guest host while I’m out getting much needed rest. Can’t wait to get back in my purple chair!”
The program’s producers indicated that O’Connell will fill in for all five new installments next week, prior to Wendy’s big comeback.
Said the veteran actor in a statement:
“I am so excited to help out and fill in. We all know nobody can fill the purple chair like Wendy, but I am honored to sit with her co-hosts and to bring the many fans all the Hot Topics they love.
“Like Wendy tells us, I am going to Say It Like I Mean It.”
Oh God, no.
Please, Jerry. You seem like a nice guy.
Please don’t go out there and say you’re sick of the #MeToo movement or call Oprah fat or any such headline-generating nonsense.
On February 21, Williams announced she would be taking some time off due to Graves disease, which is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid, in addition to other thyroid issues of which she was previously aware.
“I’ll be back in two [weeks],” she half-joked at the time, adding in poor taste:
“I’m not an heiress – who is going to pay my bills? Are you serious? I’m just saying, I come from working class.”
Yeah. And you make seven figures a year now. Shut the heck up, Wendy.
The co-presidents of the production company behind The Wendy Williams Show also released a statement.
They said “our first priority is Wendy’s health and we – along with her millions of viewers – are eager to see her honest and authentically opinionated voice return to the air very soon.
“While no one can duplicate what Wendy can do, we are excited to have Jerry answering Wendy’s call and revving up the audience for a week leading up to her homecoming.”
Are you equally psyched to have O’Connell on board?
Heck, do you wish he’d replace Williams permanently?
