Wendy Williams can’t quite put the NAACP and black college controversy behind her.
Three top producers for the daytime talk host have been sacked, in the wake of an uproar this summer over Williams’ on-air comments about the civil-rights group and historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), two insiders have told TheWrap.
Now the staff is “up in arms,” one insider said, over the belief that the fired producers are being scapegoated for a controversy for which they were not responsible. One of the fired producers, Jason Gabel, had been with the show since it started in 2008.
David Perler remains the executive producer of the syndicated “Wendy Williams Show,” which is made by Debmar-Mercury. The names of the other producers who were let go were not immediately available.
A spokeswoman for the show had no comment.
After Jesse Williams lambasted the state of race relations in a widely quoted speech at the BET Awards in June, Williams told her audience that the speech was “poignant” — but she was critical of historically black institutions such as the NAACP.
“I would be really offended if there was a school that was known as a historically white college. We have historically black colleges,” the host said. “What if there was the National Organization for White People, only? There’s the NAACP.”
The remarks stirred widespread outrage and led Chevrolet to drop a sponsorship deal for Williams’ show.
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She said she would be offended if there was a historically white college or the National Association for White People only.
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Alyssa Milano The actress appeared on Williams' show and talked about how she's become a breast feeding advocate after posting pictures of herself breastfeeding her own kids.
She was shocked to learn that Williams herself had strong opinions on the topic, saying she doesn't need to see that and that she'd breastfeed her child in the car.
Whitney Houston Williams had a phone interview (if you even want to call it that) with the late Whitney Houston, and it didn't go well, to put it mildly.
The interview pretty much consisted of Houston cursing Williams out after she kept asking about her drug problem.
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Tupac According to a report by VH1, Williams had made claims that Tupac had been raped in jail.
The late rapper came back with "Why U Turn On Me" which took jabs at her weight among other things.
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Caitlyn Jenner Wendy Williams called out the transitioning star (at the time still known as Bruce) for wearing nail polish.
"He at least waited for his kids to grow up, so he doesn’t have to go to PTA meetings with a shaved Adam’s apple, and a blowout, and pink nails, and a cigarette," said the talk show host.
GLAAD was definitely not happy about her comments.
She posted a video on social media and captioned it "Don't come for us unless we call for you" and tagged Williams in the post.
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Beyoncé Williams came for the Queen herself.
According to TMZ, in light of Beyoncé's documentary premiering, the talk show host said that although she's looking forward to watching the film, the singer "sounds like she has a fifth grade education."
Look back at seven of the celebrities the daytime talk show host has targeted
Wendy Williams gained notoriety for being outspoken. Although that may be a good quality for a talk host, it can also get her into a little bit of trouble.
TheWrap looks at seven of the celebrities the daytime talk show host has feuded with.