Wendy Williams Makes Rare Public Appearance at Son’s College Graduation

Wendy Williams showed up for her son Kevin Hunter Jr. on his big day.

On Thursday, Dec. 19, the former Wendy Williams Show host, 60, celebrated her son’s college graduation from Florida International University in a photo obtained by PEOPLE.

Williams was seen alongside her family members in a motorized scooter she customized with a cup holder with Louis Vuitton monograms and a front pouch with Chanel motifs. The television personality dressed up for the occasion, sporting a sparkly low cut dress, black boots and a large “W” necklace.

The former Wendy Williams Show host welcomed her first and only child, Kevin, 24, with her ex-husband Kevin Hunter in August 2000. She split from Hunter in 2019 after she claimed he fathered a child with another woman and, in 2020, their divorce was finalized. While Hunter apologized to Williams in a statement and acknowledged “some wrongs,” he never confirmed this allegation.

Wendy’s eponymous show, The Wendy Williams Show, was canceled in June 2022 as the host dealt with health issues, including Graves’ disease.

In February 2024, Kevin, who remains mainly private, reentered the public eye when he appeared in the trailer for Where is Wendy Williams?, a Lifetime documentary on Wendy’s life and health after the cancellation of her talk show. He expressed concern for his mom’s well-being and her ability to return to TV.

“My mom, she always talks about how she wants to work, but I feel as though she’s worked enough,” he said. “She has people around her that are ‘yes people’ and allowing this to continue.”

Kevin also expressed discontent with Wendy’s former court-appointed guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, sharing that he was unsure they were acting in her best interests.

“I feel like the guardian has not done a good job of protecting my mom,” he said.

In the week before the documentary aired, her medical care team announced that Wendy was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Her family, including Kevin Jr. who was previously told she had “alcohol-related dementia,” was unaware of the diagnosis before they announced it.

“I continue to need personal space and peace to thrive,” Wendy said in a statement to PEOPLE at the time. “Please just know that your positivity and encouragement are deeply appreciated.”

Last month, Morrissey claimed in documents obtained by PEOPLE that Williams has become “cognitively impaired, permanently disabled and legally incapacitated.”

The update on Williams’ health came amid Morrissey’s ongoing legal battle with A&E Television Networks, Lifetime Entertainment and other affiliates involved with the release of Where Is Wendy Williams?, a docuseries about television personality’s guardianship, health diagnoses and life after The Wendy Williams Show.

The filing alleged that the media companies behind the series “filmed without a valid contract and released without Guardian’s consent.” It also claims that Williams was in a “highly vulnerable” state and she was “clearly incapable of consenting to being filmed, much less humiliated and exploited.”

Amid the ongoing court battle, Williams stepped out with Kevin at the holistic store Bolingo Balance in Newark, N.J., in August.