Wendy Williams’ Niece Accused Of ‘Kidnapping’ Aunt From Assisted Living Facility – For Taking Her Out To Dinner

Baila Eve ZismanMarch 14, 2025, 3:31 pmNews >

On Wednesday night, talk show host Wendy Williams’ niece, Alex Finnie, reportedly breached the law and “kidnapped” her aunt, taking her out to dinner. Williams has been living in Coterie, an $18,000-a-month facility in New York City, undergoing psychiatric evaluation as she suffers from frontotemporal dementia, a disease-causing memory loss.

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Finnie visited Williams and the two went to eat at an Italian restaurant in NoHo. However, not long after Finnie and Williams left the Coterie, the facility called the NYPD to file a police report stating Finnie, “evaded staff by taking Wendy out of the building.”

However, per facility procedure, Williams is not able to leave the fifth floor (memory unit) without permission from a worker, who assists her in accessing the elevator. A source close to Williams has said that Williams and Finnie were guided by a facility worker on the elevator, into the lobby, and even to the car door.

Furthermore contradicting the facility’s claims, Williams’ guardian, Sabrina Morrisey, previously said that Williams was not restricted in any way at the facility.

Finnie recounted that she and her aunt, “came back from dinner and apparently police were called…I was told at some point, the police were called because the Coterie here was saying allegedly that I took my aunt from this facility and whisked her away without any sort of confirmation or approval.”

Williams dismissed the whole fuss as “unbelievable.”

She choked back tears. “Clearly they are lying to me saying I can go out and do what I want to do. This is my niece Alex. She just flew in from Miami, OK? I just came from the hospital, so we are going out to celebrate.”

Williams’ brother, Tommy, recently reported to Us Weekly that Williams is “in great shape mentally and physically.”

On Monday, Williams was taken to the hospital when she was seen waving from her window desperately after dropping a note that read, “Help! Wendy!” Police immediately responded, and footage has shown Williams being escorted out of the facility into an ambulance. Her visit was allegedly for “an independent examination as to whether her cognitive functions are sufficiently intact to en her guardianship.”

Williams has previously described the facility as a prison.