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    What to Know About Wendy Williams’s Guardianship

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    Ms. Williams, whose health has been scrutinized since she left her daytime talk show in 2021, has been under the control of a court-appointed guardian for the past three years.Wendy Williams, the former talk show host known for her catch phrase “How you doin’?” and being a staple on New York radio, has been under a court-ordered guardianship since 2022. Since then, details of her personal life have become internet fodder and raised discussions about her health and family.This week, Ms. Williams’s court-appointed legal guardian suggested she should undergo a new medical evaluation because Ms. Williams had publicly questioned a diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia and aphasia. Ms. Williams, who is living in a New York care facility, said in a recent telephone interview on “The Breakfast Club” that she was “not cognitively impaired.”Ms. Williams’s inner circle participated in a four-part documentary about her life last year and have mounted a campaign to get her out of the state’s care.While some details around the guardianship, which oversees Ms. Williams’s personal and financial affairs, are sealed by court order, others have been shared with the public.Here is what we know.When did Wendy Williams enter a guardianship?In 2022, a year after Ms. Williams last filmed her talk show, a court appointed a legal guardian to oversee her personal and financial affairs. The appointment came after Wells Fargo, which was involved in her finances, had “documented a pattern of unusual and disturbing events” related to her welfare and finances, according to court documents.Who is Ms. Williams’s guardian?Sabrina E. Morrissey is Ms. Williams’s court-appointed legal guardian, although her specific powers are not clear because a court sealed many of the related filings.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      What’s Next for MrBeast? Class Consciousness.

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      On YouTube, he’s long prompted people to do extreme tasks for money. But on his new reality show and in social media posts, MrBeast is showing a new motivation.In the eighth episode of the reality competition show “Beast Games,” released last week, the YouTube superstar MrBeast — the show’s host, co-executive producer and mischief-maker-in-chief — asked the 10 remaining contestants to choose their share of a $1 million split.By this stage of “Beast Games,” which streams on Amazon Prime Video, there was a surprising amount of good will and trust among the players, who are all competing to be the lone winner of a $5 million prize in next week’s finale, the largest amount ever given away on television.The money was presented in a preposterous stack of bills, an almost cartoonlike array. The first contestant took one-tenth. The second took a little more. The third contestant to stake a claim was J.C., a man with a sob-story background who had previously appeared to be beyond ethical reproach. But the combination of quite reasonable greed and quite tragic desperation led him to take $650,000 for himself, leaving barely anything for the remaining players, to their collective repugnance.The subsequent shots of J.C., alone in his bunk, weeping and surrounded by duffel bags of cash, was the first truly affecting note of this season. He was a villain, but a completely reasonable one. Resources are scarce, competition is everywhere — all you can do is grab what’s in front of you.J.C. anguished after taking the bulk of a $1 million pot split among nine other contestants.Amazon Prime StudiosTypically, the YouTube videos for which MrBeast, born Jimmy Donaldson, is known steer clear of such psychic weight. He is 26, and has been the dominant star on YouTube for several years now, with 357 million subscribers. His stunt videos, in which people are prompted to do extreme tasks for money, are often viewed hundreds of millions of times.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ Is a Scammer Docudrama With Bite

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      The Netflix series, starring Kaitlyn Dever, tells the story of an Australian blogger who found fame and money by lying about having cancer.“Apple Cider Vinegar,” on Netflix, is the latest scammer docudrama, another galling true story zhuzhed up for maximum bingeyness. This one is about two scams, though: an Australian woman perpetrating a cancer fraud, and the wellness industry more broadly.Kaitlyn Dever stars as Belle Gibson, who rose to fame as a cancer and food blogger. The show weaves her story together with that of two other characters who actually do have cancer: Milla (Alycia Debnam-Carey), Belle’s blogger idol, who is convinced she can heal her own cancer, and later her mother’s, with juicing, and Lucy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), a breast-cancer patient desperate for alternatives to the brutality of chemotherapy. Presumably “Coffee Enema” was not as enticing a title as “Apple Cider Vinegar,” but that pseudoscientific practice occupies a lot screen time here. A lot.The story unfolds in jumbled timelines, mostly between 2009 and 2015. The size and gnarliness of the lesions on Milla’s arms situate where she is in her prognosis, and Lucy grows increasingly wan. Belle’s “journey,” in contrast, is told by the state of her veneers — the brighter and shinier, the more recent. Belle’s grifts began in her teens, but she started honing her cancer story on mommy message boards as a young mother. “One of the worst things that can happen to a person happened to me!” she declares, lapping up each molecule of pity she can wring from others.“Vinegar” has more depth and bite than many other scam stories, with more hypotheses about what might motivate someone to perpetrate social frauds: bad mom, absent dad, rapacious need for attention — the same things that lead a lot of people to a life on the stage. Alienation and desperation are powerful motivators, and Devers’s performance makes Belle just sympathetic enough to reel you in.For those who want more from the world of cancer frauds, the documentary series “Scamanda,” based on a podcast of the same name, airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC. (Episodes arrive the next day on Hulu; the series debuted on Jan. 30.) Amanda Riley lied for years about having cancer, blogging about it and giving talks at her church, scamming friends and community members out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Where “Vinegar” focuses on the perpetrator, “Scamanda” is more concerned with the victims, with their humiliation and revulsion over being had. It’s a mediocre doc, but the story is wild. More

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      Stephen Colbert Is a Little Alarmed About Trump’s Gaza Proposal

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      Colbert wasn’t the only host flabbergasted by President Trump’s plan to take over Gaza, move the Palestinians out and turn it into a resort destination.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.First Dibs on the Gaza StripAt a White House news conference on Tuesday, President Trump said the United States should take over Gaza, which he said could be turned into “the Riviera of the Middle East” once all the Palestinians there had been moved out.On Wednesday’s “Late Show,” the camera cut from that clip to Stephen Colbert in a fright wig. “I’m sorry, that was just so shocking, it made me put a wig on,” he said.“All these years, I don’t know why no one else thought to call shotgun on the Holy Land.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“A source close to the president said it was Trump’s own idea. Everyone was like, ‘Oh, we can tell.’” — JIMMY FALLON“Trump wants to take over Greenland, Canada and now the Gaza Strip. He’s like everyone at 2 a.m., drunk-ordering off Amazon: ‘[slurring] I’m going to — I’m going to add Gaza Strip to the cart. I want Gaza Strip.” — JIMMY FALLON“This is really what he wants to do. It’s like our country is being run by the maniac from ‘Saw.’” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Every idea is worse than the last idea. He seems to believe that the reason there’s conflict in Gaza is because no one thought to give them a pickleball court. Everything, no matter what the crisis may be, everything always comes back to real estate with him.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“The only thing the United Nations and the Taliban have in common is they both think this is a terrible idea.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Gaza Glow-Up Edition)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Beyond the Gates’ Brings Soap Operas Back to Daytime TV

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      As a student at Yale, Sheila Ducksworth often rushed home to indulge in two favorite guilty pleasures. She’d stop for dessert at Durfee’s Sweet Shoppe before catching up on her soap operas with a friend.She had grown up watching her stories. “Generations,” the NBC soap opera that debuted in 1989 and the first to highlight a Black family from its inception, became must-watch television while she was in college. She saw herself in the characters, and she yearned for the 30-minute show, ultimately short-lived, to be stretched into a daily hour like most other soaps.Ducksworth started a career in television production with the idea of one day producing a soap opera even as they began to disappear from the airwaves. In 2020, with her treasured daytime serials still front of mind, she agreed to lead a new partnership between CBS and the N.A.A.C.P., and immediately set out to resuscitate the faltering genre. That doggedness will result in something that has not occurred this century: a daytime soap debuting on a major television network. “Beyond the Gates,” premiering on Feb. 24, will be the first since NBC introduced “Passions” in 1999. And it will be the first ever that’s completely centered on a Black family.From left: Clifton Davis, Maurice Johnson, Tamara Tunie (with her back to the camera), Karla Mosley and Daphnée Duplaix.Eric Hart for The New York Times“This is really almost a 30-year passion, the point of getting this made,” Ducksworth said from Assembly Atlanta, the studio complex where the show is filmed, as cast and crew careened from scene to scene filming the story that centers on the Dupree family in suburban Maryland.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Jimmy Kimmel Wants Canada to Save Us, Eh?

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      Kimmel is all for making Canada the 51st state: “If Canada also had 54 electoral votes, forget MAGA — our next president will be a kindhearted lesbian moose.”Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Oh, CanadaPresident Trump agreed to suspend his threatened tariffs on Canada’s exports after making a deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday.Trump said he considered Canada’s “concessions” a “big victory,” but Jimmy Kimmel noted on Tuesday that Trudeau had reiterated a border commitment that he’d already announced.”That’s right, under President Trump, our allies will be reiterating in their boots from now on,” Kimmel said.“Next, his plan is he’s going to force France to give us the Statue of Liberty. Won’t that be nice? The art of the deal.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“That’s nice, he decided not to break up with them till after Valentine’s Day.” — JIMMY FALLON“Trump’s also doubling down on this idea that Canada would agree to become our 51st state — as if Drake hasn’t been through enough this week.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“But let’s just imagine for a second that somehow they do make this happen and Canada does become a state. Do they think it would be a red state? There are 41 million people living in Canada. They’re about the same number we have in California. California has 54 electoral votes. If Canada also had 54 electoral votes, forget MAGA — our next president will be a kindhearted lesbian moose.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“I’m trying to say, I’m for it. Save us, Canada — you’re our only hope.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Egg Edition)“I never thought I’d live in a time where there’d be surge pricing on eggs. This is going to be a tough Easter, kids. Get ready to start hunting Swedish meatballs.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Can you imagine if Joe Biden was still president and there weren’t any eggs in the store? Trump would be screaming into an empty McMuffin right now.” — JIMMY KIMMELWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Late Night Weighs In on the ‘World’s Dumbest Trade War’

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      Jimmy Kimmel thinks President Trump decided not to impose tariffs on Mexico because he saw the guacamole bill for his Super Bowl party.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Tariff ManPresident Trump announced new tariffs on Canada and Mexico over the weekend but agreed to pause them for 30 days on Monday.Jimmy Kimmel called Trump’s tariffs “fake,” saying he was “pretending to issue tariffs so that Canada and Mexico can pretend to bend over for him, and then it’ll look like he’s the big hero.”“He’s like a toddler negotiating nap time with his parents.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“People are wondering why Trump would start a war with our closest allies, and he was like, ‘I didn’t say anything about Russia and North Korea.’” — JIMMY FALLON“Maybe it’s the New Yorker in me, but the last people you want to upset are your upstairs and downstairs neighbors.” — JIMMY FALLON“So now, we have a one-month cease-fire in what some liberal rag called The Wall Street Journal described as ‘the dumbest trade war in history.’ To which the Dallas Mavericks said, ‘Hold my Luka Dončić.’” — STEPHEN COLBERT“But you do have to hand it to him. Starting the ‘world’s dumbest trade war’ is an accomplishment to add to a very long list: first of all, world’s dumbest trade war, world’s dumbest Covid response, world’s dumbest climate policy, world’s dumbest hurricane map, world’s dumbest election interference, world’s dumbest wildfire response, world’s dumbest crowd size comparison, world’s dumbest insurrection, and world’s dumbest Eric. He’s like the Michael Phelps of the world’s dumbest stuff.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“No American wakes up saying, ‘Damn Canada. We should really go after Canada.’ I mean, except for Kendrick Lamar. That dude has it out for Canadian rap.” — SETH MEYERS“I just hope cooler heads prevail and the countries involved in this dumb trade war can all get back to selling each other crap as soon as possible.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Tequila Edition)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Super Bowl LIX, Plus 9 Things to Watch on TV This Week

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      The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs will face off, after the much anticipated Puppy Bowl XXI.Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that air or stream this week, Feb. 3-9. Details and times are subject to change.A Sunday filled with football, puppies and ads.It’s time for the annual Taylor Swift-bowl — oh, sorry, I mean Super Bowl. For the second year in a row, Swift will be rooting on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and his team, the Kansas City Chiefs, who are facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on Fox.Before the biggest football game of the year, there is a much fiercer competition happening between team ruff and team fluff in their pursuit of the Lombarky trophy at Puppy Bowl XXI. Featuring over 100 puppies from shelters all around the country, it’s an opportunity to see cuteness on the small screen and support their adoptions. Sunday at 2 p.m. on TBS and streaming on Max.However you spend game day, get ready earlier in the week by recalling some of the best advertisements of the past, with “Super Bowl Greatest Commercials.” Wednesday at 9 p.m. on CBS.Puppy Bowl XXI features over 100 puppies from shelters all around the country.Animal Planet, via Associated PressAre you working on the yachts or chartering it?Everybody’s favorite hunky captain is back for a new season of “Below Deck Down Under,” the show that follows the crew of a charter yacht. Sailing around the Seychelles off the coast of Africa, Captain Jason Chambers leads a crew of familiar faces and some new ones — for the first time on the franchise, there is sous chef, which feels long overdue. But who is going to put in Captain Chambers’ contact lens now that his chief stewardess Aesha Scott has moved on to the original “Below Deck”? Monday at 8 p.m. on Bravo.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More