Who is Wendy Joan Williams? The world knows her as Wendy Williams, she is an American talk radio host, television personality, and New York Times bestselling author. Williams is known for being a former DJ in New York City, where she gossiped about mostly African-American entertainers and conducts celebrity interviews. Williams gained notoriety for her on-air spats with celebrities, notably her January 20, 2003 exchange with Whitney Houston. Williams was born July 18, 1964 in Asbury Park, New Jersey and raised in Ocean Township, New Jersey in the Wayside section.[1] "As a youngster, Wendy did not seem destined for success on the radio, or anywhere else. She graduated from Ocean Township High School.[2] From 1982 to 1986, Williams attended Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where she majored in communications and was also a DJ for the college radio station WRBB 104.9 FM.
Williams also interned at WXKS-FM ("Kiss 108") in Boston. She later became a DJ for radio station WVIS in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and after eight months there, accepted a job at oldies station WOL in Washington D.C.. Wendy Williams then entered the New York market, where she worked for the FM stations WPLJ and "Hot 97".
In 1989, Williams began working at "98.7 Kiss FM" in New York City as a fill-in DJ. As rival station WBLS began hiring away staff from that station, Kiss FM hired her full-time for its morning show and gave her a non-compete clause contract; at this time she started her trademark of talking about African-American celebrities, giving listeners the dirt on their personal lives. A year later, Ms. Williams landed her own 6-10 p.m. shift, eventually winning the Billboard Award for Best On-Air Radio Personality in 1993. The following year after her Billboard award Emmis Broadcasting bought out Kiss FM and switched Williams to the company's Hot 97.
Williams was fired from Hot 97 in 1998 for allegedly getting in a fight with her co-worker Angie Martinez, while outing her romantic relationship with rapper Q-Tip.
In her New York Times bestselling autobiography Wendy's Got the Heat[3],
Williams praised Martinez while acknowledging a mostly verbal confrontation. Williams stated that the station used the incident as an excuse to terminate her contract, and suggested that it was really pressure from hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs 
which led to her dismissal. She alludes to this in her second book The Wendy Williams Experience, as she wrote "He single-handedly tried to ruin me...".
After the Hot97 incident, Williams was hired by a Philadelphia station WUSL ("Power 99FM"), claiming her New York fans "left her for dead".
In 2001, Williams returned to the New York airwaves when WBLS hired her full-time for her own syndicated 2-6 p.m. William's friend, MC Spice of Boston, Massachusetts, offered his voice over services to the show, often adding short rap verses tailored specifically for William's show. As of 2008, she is syndicated in Redondo Beach, California (on a station which services the Los Angeles metropolitan area); Shreveport, Louisiana; Wilmington, Delaware; Toledo, Ohio; Columbia, South Carolina; Emporia, Virginia; Lake Charles, Louisiana; Tyler, Texas; and Alexandria, Louisiana among other markets.
Williams' interview style is brash, and she refers to herself, à la Howard Stern, a
s the "Queen Of All Media". In her television and radio shows, she dishes celebrity gossip, conducts interviews and speaks her mind about current events. Williams has admitted to previous cocaine dependence. She has had miscarriages, liposuction as well as breast implant surgery. She has hosted several installments of Wendy Williams is on Fire for VH1, and on October 20, 2006, The Wendy Williams Experience 
premiered as a late-night series.
Williams has published several books including the paperback novel Drama is Her Middle Name: The Ritz Harper Chronicles Vol. 1 (2006), which is co-authored by Karen Hunter.
In 2003, Williams interviewed R&B singer Blu Cantrell, 
asking questions about her sexual activities and practices, criticizing other R&B artists, and her drug abuse. This interview was sold as a bonus DVD with Cantrell's Bittersweet album.
In 2006, Williams introduced co-host "Charlemagne tha God."
Charlemagne hails from Moncks Corner, South Carolina and is a convicted felon. Charlemagne was released from his DJ position at Columbia's WHXT Hot 103.9 after a heated interview with Buffie "The Body" Carruth. 
He has since been released by WBLS from the Wendy Williams Experience radio show. Charlemagne's last on-air date was November 3, 2008 and his last comment was "I hope all these people are voting tomorrow." According to the New York Times ArtsBeat blog, Williams mentioned the decision was made by WBLS due to the current economic conditions. Other staff let go by WBLS include Vaughn Harper
and Champaine who performed on the weeknight and overnight shifts respectively.
Williams has been a spokesmodel for Georges Veselle champagne.
In October 2007, Williams filled in for Jodi Applegate 
on WNYW's morning television show Good Day New York. On the July 23, 2009 episode of her television show, Williams announced that she had elected to leave radio in order to focus full-time on her television program, as well as spend more time with her family.
On July 31, 2009, Wendy Williams ended her eight year long venture with WBLS to focus on her TV show and family.
On July 13, 2009, Williams debuted her daytime talk show The Wendy Williams Show on My 9 and FOX 5 in New York, and My 13 and FOX 11 in L.A., and most FOX O&O stations except WTVT. The show aired in New York City, Dallas, Detroit, and Los Angeles during summer 2008 for a test run. FOX television stations signed a deal with syndication company Debmar-Mercury at the end of the test to broadcast the show on its station group beginning in July 2009.[4] The "shock jockette" remains true to her moniker when in her television trailer, she refers to exercising and crunching for her "belly flatness" and "kegeling" (strengthening her vaginal muscles).
In addition to FOX Broadcasting Networks (which also owns MyNetworkTV), BET has also picked up cable rights to The Wendy Williams Show which will premiere simultaneously on TV stations covering more than 95 percent of the United States and BET. Representatives of the BET Networks have stated "After two solid quarters of growth at BET, we're thrilled that 'The Wendy Williams Show' will be joining our line-up in July to strengthen the network's momentum," said Barbara Zaneri, 
Executive Vice President Programming Strategy, Scheduling and Acquisitions, who negotiated the deal for BET Networks.[5]
Williams has cried several times on her talk show. One instance occurred while talking about weight issues during an Ask Wendy segment. Another instance occurred while discussing her experience with pregnancy during a Hot Topics segment on August 27, 2009. She cried yet again on September 15, 2009 while stating that she did not feel that Whitney Houston took ownership of her previous drug abuse problem in a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey. She compared Houston's drug abuse problem with her own struggles with cocaine.
There is some controversy over the catch phrase "How u doin?" which is repeatedly used on the show. This was a catch phrase made famous by the character Joey Tribbiani 
on the hit TV show Friends. Wendy claims this is a catchphrase she invented on her radio show. However, there is no recorded history of her ever using the phrase until well after the catch phrase was made popular by Friends and already replayed many times over around the world in syndication.
Along with interviews, Wendy Williams' TV talk show has sparked a bitter rivalry with Joel McHale
of the Soup. Wendy and her flies have become a regular feature on McHale's weekly show. In this week's installment, Wendy fought back by "fly"ing Joel's mascot fly to her studio. The fly's true identity was revealed on her show...+1 for Wendy.
In 2006, Williams announced that she was in the planning stages of making a movie about her life. The Queen of Media was written by Kimba Henriques, with Robin Givens 
Other notable cast members include Angel Lola Luv, Trey Songz, Lil' Kim, 
and Chandra 'Deelishis' Davis.
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Williams has won "Radio Personality Of The Year" awards from both Billboard and Radio & Records industry magazines. - Williams was awarded the title of "Most Guiltiest Pleasure" at the 2009 NewNowNext Awards for The Wendy Williams Show.
- She was inducted in 2009 to the National Radio Hall of Fame.
In an incident on her Hot 97 show in 1995, Williams notoriously aired rumors that Tupac Shakur
was raped in prison. Shakur was furious over the rumor, which New Jersey underground rapper Chino XL referenced in a song, "Riot". Shakur later addressed Wendy Williams on the song "Why U Wanna Turn On Me?", which remained unreleased until his death in 1996. In the song, Shakur insults Williams mainly in the last verse and the outro, stating that he prays she "chokes on the next dick down [her] throat" and refers to her as a "fat troll," and threatening a $20,000 Jenny Craig hit on her. Shakur's former boss, Suge Knight,
however, has since become a frequent guest on the Williams' WBLS show.
In 2003, Williams caused controversy while interviewing Whitney Houston 
on her alleged drug habits and tumultuous marriage to Bobby Brown. At several points in the interview, Houston berated Wendy with expletives and told Williams "if this were back in the day in Newark I'd meet you outside, but not now, because I'm a lady with class."
Williams has been addressed in song lyrics by several artists, among them Jay-Z, Will Smith, Lil' Kim, Mariah Carey, and Lil Wayne.
On Jay-Z's "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1" Intro: A Million and One Questions he rhymes:
- "For the millionth time askin me
- Questions like Wendy Williams, harrassin me
- then get upset when I catch feelings"
In Will Smith's track "Mr. Niceguy", he mentions Williams by rapping:
- Wendy Williams, you don't know me,
- I'm not your punching bag, you won't blow me... up.
- Girl better leave me alone,
- Before I buy your radio station and send ya home...
A portion of Lil' Kim's track, "Shut Up Bitch" on her album The Naked Truth says:
- Don't come around here with that Wendy Williams shit/get your facts straight or shut up, bitch!
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Mariah Carey's hit single "Touch My Body", alludes to Williams as the person whom Carey compares to other people invading her personal space: "'Cause they be all up in my business like a Wendy interview."
In Lil Wayne's song, "Million Dollar Baby", he says: "Fuck Wendy Williams The Bitch Look Like A Dude Her Body Looked Chewed And Her Hair Looks Glued"'[6]
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Williams has been criticized by rapper Method Man
for airing facts about his family's personal life which he would rather remained private.
On March 25, 2008, the New York Post reported that Nicole Spence, 
talent booker for the Williams experience, filed papers with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suing Williams. Spence, 27, claims that Williams' husband, Kevin Hunter, demanded sex from her on many occasions and created a hostile work environment by threatening and assaulting his wife on company premises. "Mr. Hunter repeatedly sexually propositioned me at work in the most crude and vulgar ways," Spence states. Spence also says that Williams did nothing to stop the alleged abuse, and in fact "offered to take me shopping so I could dress 'like a sexy little bitch,' as Mr. Hunter demanded." Both Williams and Hunter deny the charges.[7][8]
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