Wendy Williams - Shock Jockette Has New Show on VH-1

What is it about that Wendy Williams? Is it the celebrity dirt you won't find anywhere else first? The friendly female broadcaster voice that is part 1980's Valley Girl and part Bronx? Or that strawberry blonde, Lion King-esque mane? Maybe it's the candid take on her own plastic surgery.

Like comedienne Joan Rivers, you may hate or love Wendy Williams, the afternoon on-air personality on WBLS 107.5 in New York and star of VH-1's controversial but funny "The Wendy Williams Experience." Though based out of New York City, it is syndicated in select cities across the nation. She has also co-authored two tell-all books, "Wendy's Got the Heat", "The Wendy Williams Experience" and this year published her debut novel, "Drama is Her Middle Name". After years of hosting VH-1 networks' "Wendy is On Fire", a show where she interviewed celebrities in varied settings and events (sometimes very aggressively and showing no shame or remorse in publicly yelling at a celebrity to get their attention). Could you see yourself shopping with former model/entrepreneur Janice Dickinson or riding in an SUV with rap mogul/ex-felon Suge Knight?

The format of her VH-1 show is very similar to that of Howard Stern's show for the E! Network where cameras go into the studio and shoot a typical day with the host and their staff which double as the supporting cast of characters. While Stern's show, which ended a decade-long run in December 2005 to transition over to satellite radio, showed him interviewing celebrities and non-celebrities alike as well as contests involving bodily functions and the physically challenged. It is unlikely that Williams will emcee a game where deli meat is tossed at the backsides of basically faceless women who seek a breast augmentation. The truth is she really doesn't need to.

Only once have I been fortunate enough to catch her syndicated program on L.A.'s KKBT 100.3 and was definitely salivating for more. During this verbal course I got her straight-from-the-hip advice to callers with problems(a nice, hot bowl of soup), celebrity interviews (the appetizer that can also be the main course) and the gossip (my ideal entree is a thick-cut prime rib, well done with regular and extra hot horseradish sauce on the side). Like Stern, she has a business-as-usual (which includes put-downs which regardless of how harsh they sound, are in fun) banter going with her staff but, in both cases, it is about as necessary as a super-cold iceberg lettuce salad that fits in the palm of your hand. While Stern may have been the originator of this tactic for the public to witness the human side of a shock jock, the host themselves is always most interesting.

Williams was born July 18, 1964 to parents who were educators. She attended Northeastern University in Boston and graduated in 1986 with a B.A. in Communications. From there she went from interning at a small station in the U.S. Virgin Islands to calling her own shots in Philadelphia after being publicly terminated from a New York station. While carving out her own unique path to media success, Williams has hurdled past many of life's potholes such as divorce, cocaine addiction, body image issues, show business politics, on-air interviews gone bad, five miscarriages and marital infidelity to name a few.
As of this writing, only one celebrity has taken legal action against Williams. Rap mogul/fashion designer Sean Combs won a court case for defamation of character which stemmed from an on-air claim made by Williams that Combs is gay (they have since made peace). In her book, "The Wendy Williams Experience", she is quoted as saying the following - 'So celebrities should be thanking me for keeping their names out there, because shows like mine help their careers'. This sentiment is not exactly shared by those in the entertainment industry. Recently, rapper Method Man and reality-show personality Nikki Alexander (Hoopz on Flavor of Love 1) have expressed an extreme public dislike for Williams' on-air comments regarding their personal lives. Sometimes fans agree that she oversteps her borders when it comes to good taste and maybe common etiquette when dishing gossip. In cyberspace, blogs such as Crunk and Disorderly have a Wendy Williams post at least twice a month and online commentators dig into her like a post-hibernation bear at an all you can eat buffet. Everything from her hair extensions, make-up, those gargantuan breasts, clothes and whether or not she was born a female.

For some time I have wondered how (and why) did VH-1 go from broadcasting music videos and music-related shows such as Rock and Roll Jeopardy and Behind the Music to showing has-been stars that need to lose weight or a girlfriend. Not only am I glad the Queen of All Media and all her verbal gluttony is here on cable but I hope she will stay.