Before you all get your tits in a twist over the headline, I want to make it clear that I have been a Wendynista ever since she changed the game in regards to spilling celebrity gossip on New York City radio station Hot 97.
She has inspired countless people in the industry, including myself to pursue a career in broadcast journalism, be it for a newspaper, magazine, or in my case via Trvbe and on YouTube with my various projects. In other words, Wendy was TMZ before TMZ was a thought in Harvey Levin’s head.
No one spills salacious celebrity news like Wendy does, which is why I wanted to come at this story from a different angle. I wanted to come at this story as someone who is a fan of the queen of all media.
With all the alleged stories coming out about her – from accusations of relapsing from drugs, allegedly pleasuring herself and screaming obscenities in front of her staff, and the stories regarding that she’s not speaking with her staff and that they’re afraid they won’t have a job once this season wraps (FYI the show has not been renewed beyond it’s current season), does she even want to come back to the show she’s built for 13 seasons?
Can the queen of all media bounce back from everything that is happening? I truly believe that everyone has a shot at redemption, and I’m not willing to count her out just yet.
So Wendy, whatever is going on with you, focus on getting yourself back into tip top shape; because you are missed on daytime TV.
In the meantime, I need Wendy or at least someone in her camp to put out a statement in regards to what is going on with her health-wise, or at least let us know if she’ll ever sit in her iconic purple chair again.
I’d personally like to see her back on the radio via Sirius XM, where she can be as energetic, brass, and as unfiltered as she wants to be. I’d also like to see her mentor the next generation of media personalities who look to Wendy as an inspiration.
There are so many personalities (including myself) who are inspired by what Wendy does, and have carved our own niche into the media zeitgeist.
But since daytime TV seems to be a dying platform, here are some of my choices of who I would like to see not as a replacement for Wendy per se, but with shows of their own that Debmar-Mercury could produce.
Bevy Smith, Devyn Simone, Elizabeth Wagmeister, AJ Gibson
I loved when they had these four panelists on the show, because they each bring something different to the table. It would have been great to have them on when Andre Leon Talley passed, because Bevy has clear insight into the world of fashion. Plus let’s not forget her past hosting duties on the short-lived Fashion Police rip-off Fashion Queens and Page Six TV.
Before spilling the latest celebriTEA, Devyn Simone came from the world of reality TV (The Real World: Brooklyn alum competed on two seasons the MTV reality series The Challenge), so if you had reality TV stars come on, she’d be a great choice to interview them.
AJ is an author, social media influencer, and interviews celebrities, so he can bring that area of expertise to the show, pkus he’s openly gay, so it would be good to have one lf us as part of the panel.
Elizabeth is a reporter, so while they’re spilling the latest hot topics, she can drop those exclusives that no one else has. It would make for a well-rounded show that viewer-wise offers something for everyone.
RuPaul
Previous dry as hell talk show aside, I would love to see Mamaru get a stab at hosting a daytime talk show again, but it may not happen since he’s got so much on his plate (he hosts five different versions of Drag Race – US, All Stars, UK, UK vs The World, and Down Under), and he just dropped a new album.
So let’s entertain the idea that the queen of drag would return to daytime TV. If he did, here’s what I would like to see.
I would love to see 90s Ru, where she served us drag looks every episode, and interviewed celebrities, but also bring the energy that she’s been giving us for Drag Race season 14.
If you’ve watched the three episodes of Drag Race so far, Ru has been quite funny, engaging, and is back mentoring the queens who aspire to be where his career is today, a side of Ru that I’ve been missing for the past few seasons.
He can even have his bestie Michelle Visage as his co-host. It would also be great platform for Ru to bring some former competitors on the show to promote their latest projects.
Plus since Ru is the most successful drag queen on the planet, we could use some queer POC on daytime TV. Speaking of QPOC…
Ts Madison
Maddie is someone who has become a powerful force in queer media, especially with her popular YouTube shows. She even became the first trans woman to headline her very own reality TV show on cable.
So why shouldn’t the Maddie in the Morning host transition from the internet to the mainstream with her own daytime talk show on network television?
Now some might think based on her personality that she may be too much for daytime TV, and may be too scared to take a chance on promoting a black trans woman with a strong opinion on pop culture and politics to middle America.
But I always feel that if she curbs the profanity (since it’s not allowed in daytime), and you let Maddie be herself, she can build an audience – old and new without having to compromise her raw personality.
KeKe Palmer
I have watched KeKe ever since she broke out into the mainstream with Akeelah and the Bee. But we also known that she definitely has the gift of gab. She briefly hosted her own talk show on BET a few years back, and held her own alongside Michael Strahan and Sara Haines on Strahan, Sara and Keke.
So why shouldn’t she have her very own show on daytime TV? Plus it would be great if they had someone on daytime TV who could reach a younger demographic.
She’ll have the opportunity to show if she has what it takes to captivate an audience on her own when she guest hosts The Wendy Williams Show on February 8.
Sherri Shepherd
Bill Bellamy stops by as Sherri Shepherd guest hosts The Wendy Williams Show, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. (Jason DeCrow/The Wendy Williams Show)
I think it’s safe to say at this point Sherri is the most obvious choice out of all of my picks. After the overall response of Sherri hosting Wendy’s show there are lots of people who would love to see her carry a show on her own.
With her experience as a stand up comic, and former co-host of The View, she definitely has what it takes to carry a show of her own. Even though Wendy implied a few seasons ago during Hot Topics that Sherri doesn’t have the “look” to judge America’s Got Talent when her name was tossed around, it’s good to see Sherri getting the last laugh.
Plus she has insight into Hollywood and has quite a few celebrity friends, who she can get to come on to her show. She has perfect comedic timing, and never misses a beat to embarrass her teenage son on national television.
So Debmar-Mercury if you’re listening, get a deal in place for Sherri to sign, or someone else will snatch her up.
Bonus choice: Kris Avalon
Yes I’m shamelessly picking myself, and why not? One of my dreams is to host my very own talk show, be it on daytime or nighttime. Personally speaking I feel like my personality is built for nighttime based on some of the ideas I have in my head for a talk show, but I can also tone down my mouth to follow the guidelines required in daytime.
If you’ve followed my career for the 18 years that I have been in media, I love pop culture, and articulating my vast knowledge of celebrity news to the masses, be it when I used to write celebrity articles for my school newspaper, on blogspot, Krisavalon.com, and now via Trvbe.
Let’s also not forget my very own YouTube shows Wednesday Night Kiki, On The Line, Drinks & Drag and my podcast The Kris Avalon Show.
I can’t think of a show on network television that has a queer POC giving a fair and balanced perspective of what is going on in pop culture.
I also think it’s time for network TV to diversify a bit, and start looking to represent people who have something interesting to say, instead of picking someone who is a safe bet for your advertisers, but is boring the hell out of your viewers.
With my background in the entertainment industry and my internship at VH1 when I studied film, I’m more than ready to step my pussy up to the daytime TV plate.
If you have any choices as to who you would love to see with their own daytime talk show, don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts in the comments.
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