Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Wendy Williams breaks silence on Diddy arrest and sex trafficking investigation: ‘It’s about time’

Williams speculated about Combs’s sexuality during her time as a hip-hop radio host in the Nineties

Inga Parkel
New York
Wednesday 02 October 2024 11:08 EDT
What are the latest allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as he’s arrested in New York?

Your support helps us to tell the story

Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.

Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.

Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.

Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

Wendy Williams has spoken out about Sean “Diddy” Combs’s arrest, saying: “It’s about time.”

The 60-year-old TV presenter and former radio host has been a longtime critic of Combs, 54, who was arrested on September 16 on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. Combs has denied all the allegations against him and remains in jail without bond.

Reacting to the news of the disgraced music mogul’s arrest, Williams told The Daily Mail: “You know how I feel about that? It is about time.

“To see this video on TV of [Cassie] getting pummeled … it was just horrific,” she said of the 2016 security footage that emerged in May, showing Combs kicking and punching his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in the hallway of a hotel.

“What is really weird is that I have been told by so many people, ‘Wendy you called it,’” Williams added. “Including some people from my family who have said the same.

“But now you have to think, how many more times? How many people? How many more women? It’s just so horrible.”

It was recently announced that a team of lawyers is expected to file an additional 120 lawsuits against Combs on accusations ranging from rape, sexual abuse and false imprisonment to compelling prostitution and sexual abuse of minors.

Wendy Williams has reportedly been a longtime critic of Diddy
Wendy Williams has reportedly been a longtime critic of Diddy (Getty Images)

Williams has a long history with Combs. Back in the Nineties, Williams hosted WQHT’s Hot 97, a radio station dedicated to hip-hop. During her time with the station, she openly speculated about several artists’ sexuality, including Combs’s.

She was eventually sidelined by the station, with her former colleague Charlamagne Tha God recently alleging that Combs was the reason she was fired in 1998.

“Wendy’s whole thing was, Diddy was gay,” Charlamagne said on a May episode of the Flagrant podcast. “That’s why Wendy got fired from Hot 97. Wendy got fired from Hot 97 by Diddy ‘cause that’s when Bad Boy was smoking hot. She got fired for putting that out there.”

Earlier this year, Williams was diagnosed with dementia (FTD) and aphasia.

FTD is a rare and progressive brain disorder that affects the temporal and frontal lobes. It can cause behavioral changes, emotional problems and difficulty in communicating, according to The National Insitute of Aging. Meanwhile, aphasia is a condition that impacts language and communication abilities.

Offering a health update, she told the Daily Mail that she is “doing good.”

Williams is best known for her eponymously titled chat show, The Wendy Williams Show, which she hosted from 2008 to 2021. She stepped away as host due to medical issues, with numerous guest hosts filling in. It was later canceled in 2022.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in