Wendy Williams’ Ex-Husband Kevin Hunter Suing “Wendy Williams Show’ Producers For Millions!

Wendy Williams‘ ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, has filed a lawsuit accusing Debmar-Mercury, the producer-distributor of “The Wendy Williams Show” of unlawful termination. Hunter claims that the company’s decision to fire him was based on his marital status, according to documents obtained by Radar. 

“[Kevin] Hunter was one of the reasons behind the Wendy Williams  Show’s tremendous success and everything seemed to go south after he left,” Hunter‘s attorney, Abe George, told the outlet via a statement. “Mr. Hunter was unlawfully terminated solely due to his marital status to Wendy, which is contrary to human rights laws in NYC . This lawsuit seeks to compensate Mr. Hunter for the sweat equity that he put into the show and that Debmar-Mercury will continue to profit on even in their new reincarnation of the Wendy Williams Show.”

Kevin Hunter and Wendy Williams wed in 1997 and the chat show host filed for divorce in April 2019. Hunter alleges that he received notice that he had been fired as executive producer of “The Wendy Williams Show” by Debmar-Mercury, only days later. The legal docs said that Hunter was not allowed back on studio grounds. 

Hunter states in the lawsuit that he had been involved alongside the production company since the show’s start in 2008. He alleges that he was “instrumental to the show’s success” because he “negotiated, produced, and planned most of the concepts and branding behind the show.”

“The termination message to Plaintiff made no reference to any performance related reason(s) or any decision(s) related to Plaintiff’s employment as an Executive Producer,” the docs read. “The termination of Plaintiff was based strictly upon Plaintiff’s marital status and his impending divorce to the Show’s host, ignoring all of the contributions that Plaintiff made to make the show a success.”

Debmar-Mercury announced in February that the popular show was ending amid Williams’ ongoing health issues. Sherri Shepherd will take over Williams’ time slot with her new talk show, “Sherri.” The chat show will include Williams’ famous “Hot Topic” segment, per a report by Deadline. 

“According to published reports, many of the elements of The Wendy Williams Show, including the segments that Plaintiff helped conceptualize and the product integrations he created, will be part of Sherri Shepherd’s new show,” Hunter states in the lawsuit documents. 

Hunter adds that his “divorce proceedings did not absolve the Defendants of their responsibilities to pay him for his contributions to the show and allow him to continue in his role as Executive Producer unless agreed upon by Plaintiff Hunter and Defendants that his role would cease and that the Defendants would compensate him accordingly.”

Wendy Williams rep, Howard Bragman, told ET in a statement that it had been a “challenging time for Wendy as she deals with her health issues.”

“She is incredibly grateful to Debmar-Mercury, to Sherri and everybody else who has supported the show through this time. She, more than anyone, understands the reality of syndicated television — you can’t go to the marketplace and sell a show that’s the Maybe Wendy Show,” Bragman said. “She understands why this decision was made from a business point of view, and she has been assured by Debmar-Mercury that should her health get to a point where she can host again and should her desire be that she hosts again that she would be back on TV at that time.”

Guest hosts, Kym Whitley, Finesse Mitchell, Remy Ma, Fat Joe, Carson Kressley, Vivica A. Fox and Shepherd are all scheduled to fill in for Williams for the month of March. 

As reported, The Wendy Williams Show is officially cancelled and has been replaced with Sherri Shepherd’s new show and Williams is reportedly not taking the news too well and possibly seeking legal action.

 

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