WENDY Williams’ ex-publicist Shawn Zanotti reportedly knew about the sick host’s dementia diagnosis before filming the Lifetime docuseries.

Shawn had conversations on August 4, 2022, and September 30, 2022, in which she was told about Wendy‘s condition during a discussion about the star’s apparent memory issues at that time

In the conversations, Shawn expressed her dismay at her client’s lapses in memory during her interactions with the star.

Despite the diagnosis revelation, Shawn continued to work with the former TV host and even participated in a Lifetime series, which began filming with Wendy in August 2022, according to People.

It is unclear when Shawn herself filmed with Lifetime or the exact dates in August when cameras first rolled on Wendy, 59, for the project.

Despite her knowledge about the star’s cognitive decline during those conversations about Wendy’s forgetfulness, Shawn told Lifetime producers that she didn’t think her client’s drinking or forgetfulness was a cause for concern.

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In one scene filmed in Los Angeles, which the star referred to as Miami, a Lifetime producer asks Shawn, “How do you feel about Wendy drinking?”

Shawn replied, “When I’m around her and I see her if she has a drink, I’ve never witnessed her being drunk in my life. She knows her limits, she knows to stop.”

When they pressed further and asked about The U.S. Sun’s coverage of Wendy passed out drunk in a Louis Vuitton store, which was flashed onscreen during the documentary and published on August 2, 2022, Shawn said, “Oh, I remember seeing that.”

The producer shot back, “And that wasn’t a big deal?”

“No. That’s why I didn’t give a response to it, because if I respond to it, then it becomes ‘a story,’” the publicist quipped.

In another scene, with Shawn sitting down and speaking directly to the camera for the first and only time in the series, a Lifetime producer asks, “There’s been rumor and innuendo is Wendy’s an alcoholic if the public is all scared for her….”

Shawn then said, “I don’t think the public is scared for her. The headlines, as we speak right now if you look, they’re talking about her being healthy, being happy, being vibrant, wanting to go back into work.”

The producer dubiously asked, “That’s your spin?” before going on to point out several publications’ coverage of Wendy’s apparent drinking issues.

Stumbling, Shawn says, “But yeah, I know what you mean, sometimes she misses a word here or something along those lines.”

The production then pointed out that Wendy had mistaken Los Angeles for Miami earlier, despite the fact they were filming in the City of Angels at the time.

Shawn brushed it off and said, “But I also think she may just forget sometimes.”

The production pressed, “Who on her medical team have you spoken to?”

To which she said, “I haven’t spoken to her medical team… but I feel she is OK and from the time I started working with her until now, she is much better. She is bouncing back, she is on the bounce back right now.”

Fans were furious at both Shawn and Wendy’s manager, Will Selby, in the aftermath of the series, with many saying the pair had taken advantage of the ailing star.

However, Shawn was spinning it another way when she gave statements to NBC News, which were released Wednesday.

PUBLICIST SPIN

Shawn told NBC News of the docuseries, “I felt that [Williams] was being exploited.”

“She thought we were focusing on the comeback of her career. … She would be mortified. There’s no way you can convince me that she would be OK with looking and seeing herself in that way.”

Shawn said she didn’t believe that Lifetime would have stopped filming if they knew Wendy’s diagnosis, as the producers had told The Hollywood Reporter and other outlets earlier this week.

Production told THR earlier this week, “Some days, Wendy was on and very Wendy. Other days, she wasn’t.”

However, Shawn said she didn’t believe that.

“I don’t think [the diagnosis] would have stopped them at all. The producers were asking questions throughout the entire time — would ask questions where she would somewhat seem confused, and I feel as though it was done to be intentional at that moment in time to make their storyline,” Shawn said to NBC.

She said what the project turned into was not what she agreed upon, “That is not the project that [Williams] signed up for. That’s not the project [the producers] brought to me. That’s not what I told her this was going to be about.”

“There were a lot of good moments. None of those good moments were shown,” she added.

As The U.S. Sun previously exclusively reported, Shawn is no longer working with Wendy.

ANGRY FANS

Fans were outraged at Will and Shawn as they watched the Lifetime series Where is Wendy Williams? over the weekend.

One fan wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Shawn Zanotti Wendy’s ‘publicist’ and Will Selby her ‘manager’ seem to be shameless opportunists whose sole interest is to parade Wendy around, fill her head with fantasy and exploit her all for the sake of making a buck. What a set of leeches. Unscrupulous!”

Fans were particularly appalled by one scene that showed Wendy becoming irrationally upset over buying e-cigarettes.

Fans on Instagram expressed their concern for Wendy and bashed Lifetime for including the manic episode in the final cut.

“How are you not concerned about her health? That scene was a full-blown manic episode!” one ranted, adding, “Who are these people around her? They’re pissing me off!”

Another user on X slammed her former manager, writing, “Of course Will Selby let Wendy do an interview when she clearly wasn’t in her right state of mind to be doing interviews or be on camera. Anything for money, right Will?”

TERRIFYING DIAGNOSIS

As The U.S. Sun exclusively reported on February 22, 2024, Wendy was diagnosed with alcohol-related brain damage in 2019 during a rehab stint in Florida, something her son finally confirmed to viewers during the documentary.

An insider said that a brain scan was done as part of Wendy’s rehab stay in Delray Beach.

A neurologist sat down with the star, her son, and now ex-husband, Kevin Hunter Sr., 51.

“The doctor explained to them that Wendy was suffering from alcohol-related brain damage. They told her that her alcohol abuse had done permanent damage to the layers in her brain,” the insider said.

“She was warned then and there that if she continued to drink, the damage would only get worse.

“They told her that if she kept drinking, she would continue to grow more forgetful, that she wouldn’t remember people’s names, and eventually, she could forget who people even were,” the source said.

After a comment call regarding The U.S. Sun’s story was sent to Wendy’s team, they released a statement saying the star had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia last year.

“The decision to share this news was difficult and made after careful consideration, not only to advocate for understanding and compassion for Wendy, but to raise awareness about aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and support the thousands of others facing similar circumstances,” the statement read.