Television personality Wendy Williams’ outspoken nature has landed her enough feuds to last a lifetime, with notable celebrities often at the receiving end.
For television stars like Wendy Williams, being outspoken is part of the job, and admittedly, what keeps them on top of their A-game. However, the 56-year-old American broadcaster may have gone too far on several occasions, with subtle expressions of her thoughts turning into an age-long celebrity feud.
Over the years, various celebrities have become entangled in the webs of Williams’ feuding gimmicks. From hip-hop artists like Beyonce, 50 Cent, and Nicki Minaj, to top models like Blac Chyna and the Kardashian clan, it appears no one is beyond reach for the star of “The Wendy Williams’ Show.”
Looking to know who else has made it to the star’s blacklist? Here are the most notable in the last decade.
1. WENDY WILLIAMS’ BEEF WITH BEYONCE
The talk show host has rustled the Bey hive not once, but a handful of times in the last decade, by coming for the hip-hop queen, Beyoncé. Many believe Wendy Williams and Beyoncé’s beef kicked off in 2000, during an interview of Destiny’s Child on Williams’ old radio show.
Reportedly, the TV host kept referring to the girl band as “Beyoncé and the Girls,” rather than go by their group name. At some point, Queen Bey called out Williams for insulting Kelly and Michelle by not acknowledging them as equal members of the band. Beyoncé steered the conversation to an abrupt end afterward and never granted an interview with her again.
In 2012, William’s rekindled the age-long feud by throwing shade at the singer in an episode of “The Wendy Williams’ Show.” While discussing the former Destiny’s Child’s HBO documentary, “Life Is But A Dream,” the television personality implied that the songstress sounded like a fifth-grader, hence, could only be heard using close-captioning.
Things became more heated in 2016 after Williams called out Beyoncé for singing about her husband, Jay-Z’s infidelity in her song, “Sorry.” She even implied that the songstress paid Jay Z’s alleged mistress, Rachel Roy, to orchestrate the scandal.
Again in 2018, Williams came for the music artist, insisting she needed autotune. Like the previous years, the “Lemonade” singer failed to give a comeback. Not even the show host’s inference in 2019 that she was not an icon triggered a reaction from the hip hop diva.
2. WENDY WILLIAMS’ FEUD WITH JOAQUIN PHOENIX
Another celebrity on Williams’ radar is actor Joaquin Phoenix. In January 2020, the TV host came under fire for supposedly making jest of the actor’s cleft lip. It began with the star’s comment about a scar on Phoenix’s upper lips during an episode of her show.
She went on to mimic a cleft palate while trying to describe the said scar, which she claimed the actor hid under his mustache. Although the actor made no public response, Winnipeg Blue Bombers player, Adam Bighill took up the affront, calling Williams out for promoting bullying with her offensive remarks.
The American broadcaster had to render a public apology to the cleft community, alongside a sizable donation.
3. WILLIAMS AND NICKI MINAJ
Wendy William’s feud with Nicki Minaj took an ugly turn after the television icon described the singer’s husband, Kenneth Petty as a sex offender and a killer. In response, Minaj hauled some heated words at the 56-year-old on “Queen Radio,” also pointing out how evil and vicious she was.
4. WILL SMITH DISSES WENDY WILLIAMS
Most of the lyrics from Hollywood legend, Will Smith’s 2005 song, “Mr. Nice Guy” were targeted at the “The Wendy Williams’ Show” host. Those lyrics, like the ones in songs by Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, and Tupac were derogatory, intended to insult the star.
When asked if she felt insulted by those lyrics, the show host insisted she only felt love and gratitude to the music artists for the song mentions, and the resulting publicity.
5. WENDY WILLIAMS AND LIL KIM’S BEEF
Back in 2013, Williams threw shade at Lil Kim for seemingly overdoing her plastic surgery in a bid to look like La Toya Johnson.
Kim did not take the comments lightly, taking to social media to refer to her as hateful, among other derogatory terms.
6. FEUDING WITH NENE LEAKES
Although the two celebrities have come a long way in terms of their friendship, Wendy Williams and Nene Leakes got off on the wrong footing. In 2014, the show host mocked Leakes’ Birkin bag, triggering a reply from the reality star.
Leakes advised Williams to stop spewing hate. She went further to call her “the lowest of the low” when it came to gossip. The icon concluded her heated reply, by pointing out that the Birkin bag was for charity.
7. WILLIAMS’ SHADES ARIANA GRANDE
Wendy Williams sent the internet into a frenzy in 2015 when she came for singer and former Nickelodeon child star, Ariana Grande. The television personality insinuated Grande looked 12, despite being 21. She also described the singer as short, adding that she never considered her a woman.
The icon’s remark about Grande attracted backlash from Netizens, birthing the hashtag #CancelWendyWilliams.
8. KIM ZOLCIAK-BIERMANN AND WILLIAMS’ FEUD
It seems Williams simply doesn’t know when to stop. In 2020, she accused reality star Kim Zolciak-Biermann of faking her 2015 mini-stroke and resulting hospitalization. Williams insinuated the “Dancing With The Stars” alum staged the medical crisis to attract sympathy from the show anchors.
Kim fired back at the talk show host almost immediately, expressing her disgust over Williams’ insinuations. She also accused the scandalous broadcaster of shading her only because she declined an invitation to appear on her show in 2019.
9. WENDY WILLIAMS’ BEEF WITH 50 CENTS
Williams and 50 Cent have been long-time rivals, owing to the rapper’s penchant for trolling the 56-year-old talk show host. Their beef has prevailed, so much so that the rapper once barred the show host from entering his star-studded pool party.
In January 2021, 50 Cent kicked off his old tricks again, coming for Williams in his usual trolling manner. This time, he poked fun at the icon for her alleged one-night-stand with Method Man back in the day. The rapper accompanied the post with an unflattering picture of Williams bending over in her swimsuit while at the beach.
10. HOLLY ROBINSON SHUTS DOWN WILLIAMS
Another notable celebrity feud Wendy Williams has become entangled in was with “For Peete’s Sake” actress Holly Robinson. Williams made it clear to the reality star how much she disliked her show, saying there was no place on TV for such shows.
In response, Robinson educated “The Masked Singer” alum about the importance of the show in creating awareness for people with special needs. She insisted the show resonated with such folks, especially those dealing with autism, and their families, before concluding that perhaps, Williams never watched the show. She rounded up her response by spraying virtual shade repellant on Williams.
Perhaps, that would be enough to keep the Shade Queen off her game for a while, or at the very least, off Robinson’s case.