Wendy Williams Apologizes For Comments On Gay Men

Controversial television host Wendy Williams has apologized to the LGBTQ community for comments she made about gay men on Thursday’s edition of her daytime talk show.

The apology is coming a day after the 55-year-old told gay men to “stop wearing [women’s] skirts and our heels” on The Wendy Williams Show.

“I’ll start by saying I apologize. I did not mean to offend my LGBTQ+ community on yesterday’s show. I did not realize until I got home and I watched the second running of our show here in New York, and I always watch when I can to critique my delivery or the cameras, the lights, the audience, the camera,” Williams began.

She said her comments did not come from “a place of malice.”

“I’m very persnickety about how I do my show and one thing that I can tell you right now is that I never do this show in a place of malice. I understand my platform with the community from first grade to intermediate school to high school to college to radio and now to TV. And I didn’t mean to hurt anybody’s feelings,” she said, holding back tears. “I’m just having a conversation.”

“If you know me long enough, then you know bon vie von — I don’t even know what that means, but it sounds fabulous. In my mind, it means live and let live. Bon vie von. And I live and let live every day; life is too short,” she continued.

Williams promised to “do better” moving forward.

“I’m 55 years old, and maybe I sounded like your auntie, your mother, your big sister or somebody out of touch. I’m not out of touch, except for perhaps yesterday by saying what I said. So I deeply apologize and I deeply appreciate the support that I get from the community,” she said. “I will do better. I appreciate you supporting me. Thank you.”

During the Thursday show, Williams asked who in her audience would be going out for Galentine’s Day, the unofficial holiday sparked by Parks & Recreation centred around women celebrating the other women in their lives.

Williams noticed that some men in the crowd were applauding and said,

“If you’re a man and you’re clapping, you’re not even a part of this. You don’t understand the rules of the day. It’s women going out and getting saucy and then going home. You’re not a part.

“I don’t care if you’re gay. You don’t get a [menstruation] every 28 days. You can do a lot that we do, but I get offended by the idea that we go through something you will never go through.

“And stop wearing our skirts and our heels,” she continued, referencing the trend of gender-fluid fashion, made popular by stars like Billy Porter. “Just saying, girls, what do we have for ourselves?”

“Looky here now, gay men, you’ll never be the women that we are,” Williams said. “No matter how gay.”