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Wendy Williams is facing backlash.
On Thursday, the controversial talk show host made offensive comments during The Wendy Williams Show that shamed gay men who wear skirts and heels.
While on the topic of Galentine’s Day, the unofficial holiday inspired by the hit show Parks and Recreation where women celebrate their female friendships on the day before Valentine’s Day, Williams addressed the male audience members that were applauding her sentiments.
“If you’re a man and you’re clapping, you’re not even a part of this,” she said. “You don’t understand the rules of the day. It’s women going out and getting saucy and then going home. You’re not a part.”
Williams continued, “I don’t care if you’re gay. You don’t get a mense every 28 days. You can do a lot that we do, but I get offended by the idea that we go through something you will never go through.”
Concluding her statement on the matter, she asserted, “And stop wearing our skirts and our heels. Just saying, girls, what do we have for ourselves…Lookie here now, gay men, you’ll never be the woman that we are. No matter how gay, sir.”
Upset by her comments, fans took to social media to voice their outrage at the talk show host, among them was Tan France of Netflix’s Queer Eye, who shared a picture of himself donning heeled boots on Instagram. “#GayHeelsForWendy Uuuugh, Wendy Williams,” his caption began, urging others to follow his lead. “Hashtag GayHeelsForWendy, so I/she can see your FABULOUS pics in heels!!”
Taking to Twitter, one fan wrote, “Stop getting jealous Wendy and stop hating because they look better in it than you. Wear whatever you want,” adding, “I’ve never seen Wendy in the news for something good, she’s always bullying.” Another tweeted, “Cancel #WendyWilliams show. I’ll never watch this show ever again. We have to stop giving ratings to the people DONT care about us queer and trans people.”
Following the backlash, Williams addressed her controversial statement and apologized to her LGBTQ+ fan base with a video message via Twitter.
“I’ll start by saying I apologize,” her statement began. “I did not mean to offend my LGBTQ+ community on yesterday’s show. I did not realize until I got home and watched the second running of our show…And one thing I can tell you right now is that I never do the show in a place of malice. I understand my platform in the community.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings. I’m just having a conversation,” Williams continued. “I’m 55-years-old and maybe I sounded…somebody out of touch. I’m not out of touch except for perhaps yesterday for saying what I said. So, I deeply apologize and I deeply appreciate the support that I get from the community. I will do better. I appreciate you supporting me. Thank you.”
Williams’ comments come weeks after she faced backlash for mocking Joaquin Phoenix‘s scar in January. “When he shaves off his mustache, he’s got a hairline fracture, he’s got one of those—what do you call it? Cleft lip, cleft palate,” she told the audience, pulling her lip up to further mock the condition.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2019, the Joker actor described the scar as “not a surgically fixed cleft” but a “nonsurgical scar he was born with.” Williams’ comments also caught the attention of Canadian football player Adam Bighill, whose son Beau had just gotten cleft palate repair surgery, and slammed the talk show host by saying she “clearly promotes bullying.”
After sparking outrage, Williams addressed the comments she had made and apologized. “We’re thinking about Beau today as he is in surgery,” she wrote on Twitter. “I want to apologize to the cleft community and in Beau’s honor, our show is donating to @operationsmile and @AmerCleftPalate and encourage our Wendy Watchers to learn more and help support the cleft community.”
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