Friday’s episode of The Wendy Williams Show had some viewers concerned for Wendy Williams‘ well-being noting that she appeared to be unable to stay on topic, was slurring her words and was basically a sloppy, incoherent rambling mess. Now, how anybody was able to detect the subtle slip from everyday Wendy to worrisome Wendy is a Hot Topic for another day. Suffice to say, Wendy’s performance on Friday’s show was notably alarming. Then again, it is Halloween week, so maybe we shouldn’t rule out ghosts as the culprits just yet.

According to Page Six, after a fan expressed concern on Instagram about Wendy’s sobriety, or lack thereof, asking why none of her producers/handlers have stepped in, former WWS DJ, DJ Boof responded in the comments. Boof, who recently exited the show with no explanation, seemed to agree with that assessment and responded “everyone there is afraid to speak up” and hinted at trouble on the horizon for the WWS. Not that he asked, but anyone who’s seen the current iteration of her live show knows that Wendy’s answer to her own question, “How You Doing?,” which is emblazoned on the facemasks of her scantly peopled pity-clapping studio audience, should really be “not great, Boof!”

Viewers were shocked when Season 12 of “The Wendy Williams Show” began without the talk show’s longtime fixture, DJ Boof.

Williams, 56, replaced her longtime DJ and close friend with DJ Suss One but failed to acknowledge the switch, forcing her co-hosts to turn to social media to ask what happened to Boof. They didn’t receive any answers until this weekend when Boof alluded to his departure after a clip of Williams from Friday’s episode looking unwell went viral.

From the start of Friday’s episode, Williams seemed to struggle to speak. She took long pauses, slurred her words and veered off the conversation. At one point, she pronounced Adele’s name Ho-dele. After the episode was uploaded to YouTube, fans immediately expressed their concern for her sobriety.

Yes, we have been here before. As we know, Wendy has struggled with sobriety in the past, including a stint in a sober house back in 2019. And we’re almost at the 3-year anniversary of Lady Liberty’s “menopause” induced fainting spell. More recently, Wendy has blamed her erratic on-air behavior on her struggle with Graves disease, a thyroid condition that can cause cognitive impairment (and not just when coupled with drugs and alcohol). DJ Boof had this to say about the current situation on Instagram:

After a fan on Instagram called for Williams to “seriously get help,” claiming her camp is simply “watching” her “spiral,” another fan suggested that was why Boof left the show.

“Yup exactly and it will all come out..” Boof replied. “Y’all have no idea what’s really going on and everyone there is afraid to speak up because they don’t wanna lose their jobs.. this is going to play out bad.. I feel sorry for the workers and victims.”

On today’s show, Wendy kinda sorta addressed her behavior, stating the obvious. Wendy’s not perfect, OK! She’s doing her best; her best just so happens to be very, very bad. According to Page Six:

“I always say I love you for watching ‘cause I really, really do. I come here every day and I try to do the best that I can for you,” Williams, 56, said during her show on Monday. “I appreciate you watching, but even after all of these years, it’s still work. An effort put in for the hour I’m out here, you know? I guess every day is not perfect, but I’m not a perfectionist. I’m not perfect.”

She continued, “I do appreciate you putting in the effort to watch us, and I love entertaining you. You know? It’s not easy. It is not easy, you’re a tough crowd.”

Tough crowd?! Wendy’s never had rotten fruit thrown at her and it shows. The poor audience is working harder than Wendy ever has. Here’s a clip from Friday’s show. Well, here’s the whole show if you want to get your Halloween kickstarted with 40 minutes of existential dread. Or skip to about 8:40 to see Wendy top her previous attempt to say “coronavirus“ with a wild shot in the dark at naming “Adele.”

TVLine reminds us that last year, Wendy’s show was renewed through the 2022 TV season. It seems like anyone who is invested in the show’s continued(?) success (who is still watching this mess?!) would want to get Wendy all the help she needs. Even if it’s just a little electric shock device embedded in her chair to keep her on her toes!