Wendy Williams has revealed a secret, but this time about herself. During an interview with the Daily News, the daytime talk show host alleged she was date-raped by the late R&B singer Sherrick.
On Wednesday, Williams said the incident took place in the beginning stages of her radio jock career while she was in Washington, D.C.
“His name was Sherrick [and] he was a one-hit-wonder, remember the song. It was called ‘Just Call,’ and it was number one on the R&B charts and an overnight sensation,” Williams told The News about the late 1980s encounter.
“He was in D.C. I was a cute radio DJ. He’d asked me did I want to accompany him to his album release celebration in D.C., and I said ‘yes.’ I got off the air and went back to his hotel room with him,” Williams, 56, added.
“He said he wanted to shower and freshen up and introduced cocaine to the scene,” she added. “I was already familiar with cocaine, so I was continuing to party while he was in the shower. And I was sitting on the bed minding my own business.”
This isn’t the first time the host has talked about her sexual assault. She discussed it in her 2001 New York Times best-selling memoir and in her documentary, “Wendy Williams: What A Mess,” which is set to appear on January 30.
Williams’ biopic portrays the rape scene with actor Nykeem Provo playing the rapist known as Ricky Tony in the film. Williams is played by Ciera Payton, who also stars in Tyler Perry’s BET+ series “The Oval.”
William becomes emotional when discussing the personal matter, “I left after that and went home and scrubbed my skin off, cried and that was that,” the Asbury Park, N.J., native recalled. “I never told anybody. I just handled it, and that’s it.”
Eventually, the documentary interviewer asked Williams to reveal her rapist, she responded by saying, “You want me to tell you his name, it’s my story to tell, and I know I can say his name, but I’ll let him breathe because he was a one-hit-wonder,” Williams said, not realizing that Sherrick had died in 1999. She filmed the documentary last fall.
“Thank God I am not dead and diseased,” she said. “If anything, it made me more focused and determined to move on with my life.”
Williams said she didn’t think Sherrick’s name was important when doing the documentary; she instead focused on the parts of her life she was going to show in the movie because she couldn’t believe her good fortune.
“So his name really didn’t even matter. But I’ll never forget his name,” she continued. “And you know, and now that I’ve said it, and I’m still on TV, now his kids and their kids and their kids are gonna have to deal with that. I was raped by Sherrick.”
When asked about her connection with the #Me Too movement, she doesn’t see one. “And as far as the Me Too movement, it wasn’t a Me Too thing,” she said.
“I don’t want sympathy from anyone,” Williams said in the opening to the Joie Jacoby-helmed project. “Don’t feel sorry for me… I’ve never been scared of sharing my vulnerability. But I think that my vulnerability, is in a way, maybe an inspiration… There’s nothing special about me. Except that I’m my own best friend. That’s the most special thing about me.”
Sherrick battled substance abuse and died on January 22, 1999, at the age of 41, of unknown causes, the Daily News reported.
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