My new obsession: The Wendy Williams Show

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

For the past week or so, I’ve spent every night watching Tivo’d episodes of The Wendy Williams Show. It’s been my new secret obsession and (yay!) I just found out that the show has officially been picked up by Fox. (Hat tip to Stereohyped.)

I’ve been trying to figure out what it is about the show that I like so much, and last night it finally dawned on me that there are two factors that are particularly appealing.

First, it’s the first TV talk show I’ve ever seen that captures the authentic essence of social media. Wendy makes no pretense that she’s a TV pro. When she’s not picking synthetic wig hairs off her outfit, she’s barely holding back her belches. When she’s not asking the producer how much time there’s left in the segment, she’s messing up the pronunciation of people’s names. And just like here at Racialicious, comments from her viewers are an integral and seamless part of the show’s content.

Second, it’s so refreshing how her show completely normalizes queerness among people of color. So many of her audience members, mostly black and Latino, are casually open about their sexuality. Plus when she had Margaret Cho on the show, they actually touched on trans issues.

At a time when other prominent TV personalities *coughTyracough* only include gay people in the most stereotypical or exploitative situations (drag queen pageants! down low homothugs! Mr. and Mrs. Jay!), and mainstream media pretends that all African-Americans are vehemently homophobic, there’s something quietly subversive about demonstrating that gay people of color are just a fact of life, and no big deal.

Have any of you been following the show? What do you think?

Share and Enjoy:

Trackbacks & Pings

Guilty pleasures on 21 Aug 2008 at 7:35 am

[...] Have I mentioned how much I heart The Wendy Williams Show? Read my ode to Wendy here. [...]

Comments

thesciencegirl wrote:

The first I ever heard of this show was the on-screen argument between Wendy and Omarosa. That whole thing made my stomach turn, and honestly I hadn’t considered the show beyond that. Maybe I’ll check it out when it comes to network TV.

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 8:05 am ¶
Persia wrote:

I’ve only seen excerpts on The Soup, but even when they’re picking on her she seems pretty unpretentious and fun. I might check it out, if anyone local carries her!

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 8:42 am ¶
emfole wrote:

well, I haven’t seen this show (don’t have a tv) but now im gunna go find me some episodes

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 8:44 am ¶
cosmicsistren wrote:

The few times that I have watched the show I did enjoy it. She can be very annoying on her radio show but I am glad that her TV show will air nationally.

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 9:04 am ¶
Dawud wrote:

Not sure if I have the stomach to even watch it. From the write-up, it sounds like it’s another “Riki Lake Show”.

Maybe I’m too uptight, but with all the B.S. talk shows on now, I wish Phil Donahue would come out of retirement to have a daily show.

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 9:06 am ¶
DEAF FEMINIST PUNK!! wrote:

never seen it– it doesnt air here, but if she makes queerness normal, then that’s GREAT!!! I’m tired of how Tyra makes the LGBT community seem like a cliche joke.

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 10:04 am ¶
Eva wrote:

I tape this show every day and watch on weekends. My mom loves this show too. I don’t know what it is, but I love this show. Much better than that mess “The View.”

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 10:35 am ¶
dave wrote:

the omarosa thing made me uncomfortable, but i’d watch a few more episodes before i make a final decision

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 10:48 am ¶
r wrote:

i haven’t seen the tv show, but her radio broadcast that my coworker would listen to rarely failed to leave me disturbed with her (then) comments regarding downlow, homothugculture, etc., and trans* folk.

maybe she’s changed.

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 11:34 am ¶
Fatemeh wrote:

You hit it on the head with Tyra. I just can’t stand her show for that reason (oh, and the ridiculous amount of self-centeredness).

I haven’t seen the Wendy Williams show (other than clips from the Soup), but those clips are entertaining enough to make me interested in the entire show!

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 12:24 pm ¶
Gothic Guera wrote:

To be honest I avoid daytime talkshows(and reality tv) but, I would watch her show over Tyra, she make EVERYTHING a cliche joke. Hey some should cover the Cho show! *Whistles*

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 2:48 pm ¶
Lakergrrl wrote:

Ick. Her radio show is so horrendous, I couldn’t even listen to the entire broadcast. I bet she could make Tyra’s show look like Charlie Rose.

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 3:50 pm ¶
cacy wrote:

I like Wendy’s show. I’ve been listening to her on the radio for years in NYC! I understand why pple don’t like her but I think Wendy represents an alternative. For example the visibility of gay folks, black gay folks. Since the show came on, I’ve seen many different types of gay folks not just the typical stereotypes across the dial.

I also think that the show is different, over the top and fun. What’s wrong with having fun and not being perfect? I want to see flaws, I want to see scars, I want to see something thats atypical not a clone….

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 4:29 pm ¶
neoCarla wrote:

I simply like how down to earth she is, with a very inviting personality. I like that her show is fun. Her audience seems to be so comfortable in sharing with her.

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 6:05 pm ¶
evita wrote:

I have watched the show on and off. Must admit I can’t sit through the whole thing. I do enjoy the hip hop/ r&b gossip as it is never really covered in the MSM unless its Beyonce in her “hot topics.” As long as she doesn’t try to feign knowledge in the realm of politics or identity politics then it should be all good. Her expertise is gossip, music, fashion, and basic relationship stuff. Anything outside of that will find her in hot water. Thank goodness she has no articulated interest in that… THAT is where Tyra fell off.

Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 8:38 pm ¶
Lola wrote:

Wendy Williams is a hater. I don’t appreciate her because of that. Based on the few things I’ve heard on the radio in the past (and I stopped listening to her show pretty fast too), she didn’t give me a good impression. But I wanted to give her talk show a chance, watched it the first day it aired and I wasn’t convinced AT ALL, so I left it alone. Maybe I need to watch it again, but then again maybe some hosts just arent for you so maybe Wendy just isn’t for me.

Posted 22 Aug 2008 at 5:29 am ¶
lxy wrote:

One minor question: What does the term “social media” specifically mean?

Does it mean the internet or any type of interactive media?

Posted 22 Aug 2008 at 5:32 am ¶
amy wrote:

I kinda have a weird interest in Wendy, even though she is sort of a conflicted mess. I have been following her show even though there is definitely something unwholesome about her whole mindset. On her radio show, she takes calls for from listeners asking for advice (which…not a great source for advice, if you ask me), and though they take and answer questions from gay callers, I would not say that they think of them the same way as the straight callers. Although I agree that there is something compelling about her show that makes you want to see it.

Posted 22 Aug 2008 at 10:30 am ¶
Joselle Palacios wrote:

I am most definitely on Team Wendy. First of all, she makes the evening commute tolerable. Secondly, she’s just pure id but, like the promos say, she also has heart. She does!

I can’t stand Charlemaigne (her sidekick on the radio) and his homophobic/fat phobic/just plain phobic rants but even he manages to make me laugh every once in a while.

Mostly, I love how Wendy refuses to box herself in. She does not revert to type and can sometimes surprise me with her interests. She’s fond of calling herself just a simple girl from New Jersey but when you listen to her for a while, you know there is nothing simple about her.

Another thing, her first novel is actually well-written. And trashy fun.

I have yet to watch the show. I work and am Tivoless. But on a sick day in the new year, I’ll tune in.

Her and Margaret Cho? Off to You Tube now!

Posted 22 Aug 2008 at 2:22 pm ¶
browne wrote:

Why are we comparing Tyra and Wendy? I don’t watch talk shows but I’m not sure why anytime two black women do the same thing they end up being pitted against each other. Are there no other “entertaining” talk show hosts that Wendy can be compared to?

I think their both equally pointless.

Browne

Posted 24 Aug 2008 at 2:11 pm ¶
Prometheus wrote:

I have to agree with evita, that problem I have with Tyra’s show is that she tries to be political and seem informed, but it’s all presented in a cheeky, superficial sort of way. She aims to inform, but her show is pretty much just entertainment; every now and then a rare gem will surface. As for Wendy, I haven’t been too much a fan of hers in the past, but I have had very limited exposure to her except for the whoel Omarosa mess. Maybe, I’ll just give her a chance…

Posted 24 Aug 2008 at 11:53 pm ¶
freedom wrote:

I hate that hag with a passion. I could never bring myself to watch the show, but, I certainly hope that it gets canceled as soon as is humanly possible. She has absolutely NO talent. Just my thoughts, of course. Peace.

Posted 25 Aug 2008 at 11:34 am ¶
sHaE-sHaE wrote:

I’ve seen it twice. She’s too over the top for me.

Posted 25 Aug 2008 at 12:19 pm ¶
Shawnie wrote:

Does Wendy has a major in psychology that no one knows about? The reason why I asked is that everyone one looks to her for advice when she have her own personal issues in her life that she has not let out in the air. I won’t speak on it because its not in my place however I know her life it not picture perfect as too nobody is, however she down plays with a lot of people emotions about their person life which I think is horrible. Bottom line is she needs to check herself before giving advice on other personal issues when she need to think about what she did in her past and whats going on in her future.

Posted 07 Oct 2008 at 3:12 pm ¶