TV talk show host Wendy Williams has come under fire after she publicly undermined the COVID-19 vaccine. Appearing on the Dr. Oz show yesterday, Harvard University graduate, Mehmet Cengiz Öz, casually asked the former radio host:
"Are you planning on getting your vaccine," Oz asked Wendy.
"No," the mom-of-one replies.
"No?" a shocked Oz says in response.
"No? I don't trust it," Wendy says nonchalantly.
After a slight awkward silence, the Wendy Williams Show host went on to explain herself.
"I've never got the flu shot either and you and I have talked about that. And several of the doctors on my team have talked about, 'Wendy we'll get the flu shot.' I've never had the flu I'm not getting the flu shot. I very rarely get a cold. I never get headaches. I never take an aspirin because I feel my heart murmur or something like that..no, I'm not...No..I don't trust it. There I said it," the National Radio Hall of Fame inductee insisted.
A bewildered Dr Oz. then presses her on her vaccine views.
"Can we get back to the vaccine? Because what you say and believe is so important to a lot of people," Dr Oz. told Wendy.
"Millions and millions of Americans are gonna say 'Wendy didn't get the vaccine, so I'm not getting the vaccine," the cardiothoracic surgeon speculated.
"So let me just ask you, what could happen that will make you feel comfortable? 10 million take the vaccine without a problem. Your neighbor, sibling, your son gets vaccinated. If somebody near to you gets vaccinated and does well, that might make you think. Just to get past the hassle of lying on your back recovering from COVID-19 - or maybe not recovering - is it not worth the risk to consider this vaccine?" Oz asks.
"I'm not getting the vaccine. 10 million people and more have had the flu vaccine and how many catch the flu? I'm not getting the vaccine Dr Oz. I don't trust it," Wendy insisted.
"What's the thing you don't trust? The fact it was made quickly? There's not been enough follow up? What specifically bothers you about it," Dr Oz wondered.
"Doctors are really smart people. But they don't know everything and thats been proven as well. And I'm not saying you shouldn't get the vaccine, everybody watching, I'm just saying I'm not getting the vaccine."
After the video went viral, many people criticized Wendy for her views - as many brought up the time she fainted on live tv and her past drug use.
"She literally fainted on TV... but I guess it’s her choice," one fan wrote online.
"Snort coke, but can’t get the vaccine?! Oh okay..." another added.
"She'll trust crack before a vaccination, I cant say I blame her. Stick to what you know," a third shady comment read.
"As she sits there with Graves disease. But go off Auntie," a fourth chimed in.
Williams debuted her daytime talk show, The Wendy Williams Show, in four cities during the summer of 2008. She had not missed a show until February 2018. The Emmy-nominee announced that her show would be on three weeks' hiatus due to her complications with Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism.