Wendy Williams' Guardian Files Lawsuit Against Lifetime's Parent Company Ahead of New Documentary

Lifetime's new documentary 'Where Is Wendy Williams?' explores the star's life under her guardianship

Wendy Williams' guardian has filed a lawsuit against Lifetime's parent company, A&E Television Networks.

The guardian, whom TMZ names as Sabrina Morrissey, filed the suit under seal on Thursday, two days before the planned premiere of Lifetime's new documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?, which explores Williams' life under her guardianship.

"The new lawsuit appears to be filed as an attempt to prohibit the airing of the upcoming documentary Where Is Wendy Williams?" a source with knowledge of the case tells PEOPLE.

Related: Wendy Williams' Family Break Their Silence on Her 'Shocking and Heartbreaking' Struggles Over the Past 3 Years (Exclusive)

A hearing date has reportedly been set for next week for a judge to determine whether the documents should remain under seal.

Morrissey and A&E have not responded to PEOPLE's request for comment.

While speaking to PEOPLE for this week's cover story about Williams, Mark Ford, the executive producer of the documentary, said that "Wendy's attorneys and the guardianship attorneys were consulted and signed off on" the project.

"The film was signed off on by Wendy, her management, her attorneys, the guardianship," he said. "They were aware of the filming all the way through. So, we did go by the book and get all the permissions that we needed to get. We went into this film thinking it was one thing, and the truth turned out to be another. Once we started seeing the truth of the situation, we couldn't ignore it. And the film had to go in the direction of the truth."

Williams claims in the documentary that her guardian, whose identity remains private in the film, has stolen money from her. Filmmakers say she didn’t provide evidence.

When the Lifetime documentary crew began filming in August 2022, it set out to follow Williams’ comeback as she prepared to launch a new podcast. The film quickly evolved into something entirely different, as the crew captured Williams in the throes of alcohol addiction and struggles with health issues including Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that can cause bulging eyes, and lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling in her feet.

Related: Wendy Williams, 59, Diagnosed with Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia, per Her Medical Team

The documentary crew stopped filming Williams in April 2023. That month, she entered a facility to treat what her family had been told was "cognitive issues.” In the documentary, her son Kevin Hunter Jr. says he was given a diagnosis by doctors his mom was seeing in Florida. “Because she was drinking, I think they said it was alcohol-induced dementia,” Kevin Jr. reveals in the film.

Earlier on Thursday, Williams' care team announced that she has primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a diagnosis the family says they were left in the dark about.

According to a press release, Williams received her diagnosis last year and her medical team said the conditions “have already presented significant hurdles in Wendy's life.”

“Wendy is still able to do many things for herself,” the team said in a statement. “Most importantly she maintains her trademark sense of humor and is receiving the care she requires to make sure she is protected and that her needs are addressed. She is appreciative of the many kind thoughts and good wishes being sent her way.”

Williams remains in the facility to this day, and her family says her guardian is the only person who has unfettered access to her.

Her family says they don’t know where she is and cannot call her themselves, but she can call them.

"The people who love her cannot see her,” says Wendy's sister Wanda. “I think the big [question] is: How the hell did we get here?”

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