“With my confidence about what I’m doing, it’s all evolved into just Wendy, which is great,” Wendy Williams said of her career that spans three decades to ABC News’ Chief Business Technology and Economics Correspondent Rebecca Jarvis on an episode of ABC Radio’s “No Limits.” “I hate that it took so long.”
“The Wendy Williams Show” will begin its 10th season on air this fall, but Williams told Jarvis that her sudden switch to daytime TV was not an easy transition.
“It was very difficult to try to explain because I tried to explain to the people who really loved me on radio,” Williams said. “But the people on radio the first couple of seasons were like, ‘Who is this girl. This is not Wendy!”
In the urban radio circuit, Williams rose up the ranks by spilling the tea on the hottest celebrities.
“On radio I was a hellcat,” Williams said. “And now I’m a hellcat on daytime TV.”
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“The Wendy Williams Show” launched in 2008 and now airs in 52 countries. Williams told Jarvis that in order to attract a wider fan base than what she had in radio, she had to “bend” her gritty persona that made her famous.
“On night time, I could tell you exactly how I feel right now,” she said.
Whereas, on daytime TV, Williams said, “I’ve got to pull her in gently, pull down my skirt, and cover up the cleavage. And almost ten years later, she gets who I am.”
She added: “There are a lot of things that you have to adjust for a daytime position, particularly when you’re black and big.”
“I can’t change my skin, I won’t change my voice, I can’t change my confidence. All I can do is pray that you put up with me long enough that you actually begin to get it. You know?” she said. “Even though you think we don’t, know this is what we have in common.”
When asked about what her 6-year-old self would say about her life now, Williams responded, “You turned the world on. You made it on your own terms.”
Hear more of Wendy Williams’ interview on this week’s episode of “No Limits with Rebecca Jarvis,” available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Spotify, TuneIn and the ABC News app.
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