Munya Vomo
YAY! BET is now finally up and running on DStv and we have none other than the charismatic Wendy Williams bringing us her talk show, The Wendy Williams Show, which many will be looking forward to. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, Williams has this to say to you:
“I am the host of the show and we deal will a lot of issues surrounding pop culture and the celebrities whom we love. Also, with the sadness that goes on in the world, people need a place to go to laugh and this show is the right place for that. Essentially, I am into celebrity culture, good, bad and different. Whether its George Clooney or Chris Brown, I give you my take on the news they make.
“There is also a portion of the show that’s called ‘Ask Wendy’ where my audience will stand up and ask me questions. Sometimes these are very intimate questions about something going on in their lives and they hope that I can help them. We also have celebrity guests from the likes of Halle Berry to Jennifer Lopez, people who come to have a good time on The Wendy Williams Show.”
So far, South African DStv viewers have seen talk shows hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, Queen Latifah and Arsenio Hall. While Williams is aware of this, she still believes there is room for her show.
“The signature for my show has to be my Hot Topics. I start the show with blabbing about celebrity culture. If it’s not nice, then I will say it. When it’s lovely, yes, I will also say that. My signature catchphrase is: ‘How you doing?’ and the signature feature of the show is the Hot Topic,” she explained.
With the TV landscape having changed over the years, and people now watching and reacting online, Williams confessed that she checks her viewers’ responses on social media.
“I am on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as I like to pay close attention to what my Wendy watchers are saying. If they have something critical to say, or something they want more of, then I am in the know. It’s not my favourite thing to do, but it has to be done,” she said.
With that internet freedom comes both the positive and the negative feedback, something Williams is prepared to deal with.
“I come from a long, successful career in broadcasting. I spent 25 years in radio and was very popular, but my opinions were not very popular. I have now been doing this talk show for the sixth season and I am a 50-year-old woman so at this point I am very thick-skinned. I believe opinions are like booties; everyone has one,” she said, cracking into laughter.
The usual problem African viewers have when it comes to shows like The Wendy Williams Show is the timing. With the internet at everyone’s grasp, we are in tune with what is happening in the world so it it important for these celebrity-driven shows to reach our shores as soon as possible so that content remains current. Williams confirmed that this will be the case with her show.
“We shoot in New York every day at 10am and as news breaks we are there. So I am as current as this morning’s news,” she said.
The Wendy Williams Show will air every week day at 7pm on BET (DStv channel 135).