Ex-Wendy Williams husband Kevin Hunter has sued Debmar-Mercury, the production company behind The Wendy Williams Show, for wrongful termination after he was fired as a producer on the talk show following his divorce from the host. Williams split from Hunter after learning that he’d had a daughter with a woman he was seeing behind her back, telling the New York Times Magazine in an interview, “Kevin had a major indiscretion that he will have to deal with for the rest of his life. An indiscretion that I will not deal with.” 3j5o3n

If The Wendy Williams Show sees any more behind-the-scenes drama, it will have to be reclassified as a soap opera.

Already, this year has seen the cancellation of Williams’ show following periodic absences due to ongoing health issues. The show will be replaced by a new chat show, Sherri, starring comedian/The View cohost Sherri Shepherd. Two weeks ago, Williams took to Instagram to attempt to retract her own statement of of Debmar-Mercury for the move.

In a complaint filed with California courts, Hunter claims that he was given the pink slip in 2019 days after divorce papers were filed, and that his work and concepts created as a creative producer will be used for Shepherd’s new show. The complaint states, “Even though The Wendy Williams Show will be over, Defendants will continue to be unjustly enriched by Plaintiff’s initial work including his initial concepts created for the Show and Plaintiff’s product integration agreements.”

Kevin Hunter’s career as a producer began on the Wendy Williams Experience radio show on New York City’s WBLS. He ed the creative team of The Wendy Williams Show in 2011, and his other credits include The Wendy Williams Project, and Death by Gossip with Wendy Williams.

When the Debmar-Mercury, the production company behind The Wendy Williams Show, announced recently that the host would be stepping down from her syndicated talk show due to health issues, Williams’ long-time publicist Howard Bragman issued a statement on the star’s behalf gracefully accepting the end of her 14-season run in daytime talk and congratulating her replacement, Sherri Shepherd.

However, the statement may have been premature, as the 57-year-old radio DJ-turned-TV star took to her Instagram page to denounce Bragman’s press release in a now-deleted story:

“Mr. Bragman: Although I appreciate your concerns and respect you immensely,” she wrote. “I have not authorized you to make any statements on my behalf regarding my current status with Debmar-Mercury.” The story then concluded: “Again, thanks for your continuing concern and .”

However, Bragman didn’t seem convinced that the response came from William herself. When reached by People magazine, the flack said, “I’m not honestly convinced of the source of that social media post, so when my old friend Wendy FaceTimes me personally and we alone have a chance to discuss recent events, together we can figure out the best path forward.”

Williams’ radio career began in 1986 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and by the following year, she was working in New York City radio. By 2008, when she quit her job at WBLS to focus on her new TV talk show, her show was syndicated in markets all over the country.

In 2018, Williams’ show was placed on a three-week hiatus while she dealt with complications from Graves’ disease, a condition that would cause her show to intermittently halt production or find replacement hosts.

The Wendy Williams Show will be replaced by Sherri, a talk show hosted by Sherri Shepherd, who had a recurring role on 30 Rock as the wife of comedian Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), and currently works as a co-host on The View.

After months of speculation about her health and drama over access to her money, The Wendy Williams Show is officially coming to an end.

A new daytime show hosted by comedian and actress Sherri Shepherd will inherit the time slot, according to a news release cited by Deadline. The new show will be called Sherri and debut in the fall.

The Wendy Williams Show has been on the air since 2008. Sherri will appear on its predecessor’s former Fox-owned stations, according to its distributor and producer Debmar-Mercury.

“Since Wendy is still not available to host the show as she continues on her road to recovery, we believe it is best for our fans, stations and advertising partners to start making this transition now,” Debmar-Mercury co-presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein said. “We hope to be able to work with Wendy again in the future, and continue to wish her a speedy and full recovery.”

Williams’ health issues have been well documented, and the company said it would be open to working with her again in the future.

Shepherd said she was over the skies happy about the news in the popular Hot Topics segment of the show after a fakeout announcing her.

“I am so excited because since I started in this business, I have always wanted to do a talk show, even before I ed The View in 2007. When I was three, I had a microphone and my teddy bears, the chair. I just came out of my mother’s womb talking.”

“No one can replace the queen,” said Shepherd.

A representative for Williams’ said it was a difficult time for Williams, but she’s grateful for the opportunities she’s gotten so far.

“It’s been a challenging time for Wendy as she deals with her health issues,” Williams’ PR rep, Howard Bragman, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “She is incredibly grateful to Debmar-Mercury, to Sherri and everybody else who has ed 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. 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.”